Historic Nantucket
Captain D a v i d E d w a r d s House, C e n t r e Street
January, 1986 Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association Nantucket, Massachusetts
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President: H. Flint Ranney Vice President: Robert D. Congdon Vice President: Mrs. Bracebridge Young Jr. Secretary: Richard Austin Treasurer: Donald E. Terry Honorary Vice Presidents Walter Beinecke
Albert Brock Mrs. Bernard Grossman
Alcon Chadwick
Albert F. Egan, Jr. Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans
Presidents Emeritus George W. Jones
Leroy H. True
Edouard A. Stackpole
COUNCIL MEMBERS Edward B. Anderson Mrs. Kenneth Baird Mrs. John A. Baldwin Mrs. Marshall Brenizer
Philip C. Murray F. Philip Nash, Jr. Mrs. Alan Newhouse
Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman John Gilbert Mrs. Walker Groetzinger
Mrs. Paul A. Callahan Mrs. James F. Chase
Francis W. Pease Mrs. Judith Powers Charles F. Sayle, Sr. Mrs. Jane Woodruff
Andrew J. Leddy Reginald Levine Mrs. Carl M. Mueller
Mrs. George A. Fowlkes
ADVISORY BOARD Charles H. Carpenter William B. Macomber
Mrs. Charles Carpenter Mrs. Thomas Loring
Stuart P. Feld F. Blair Reeves
STAFF John N. Welch, Administrator Victoria Taylor Hawkins Curator of Collections Jacqueline Kolle Haring
Bruce A. Courson Curator of Museums & Interpretations Edouard A. Stackpole
Curator of Research Materials Louise R. Hussey
Historian Leroy A. True
Librarian
Manager, Whaling Museum
Elizabeth Tyrer
Wilson B. Fantom
Executive Secretary
Plant Manager
Peter S. MacGlashan
Elizabeth Little
Registrar
Curator of Prehistoric Artifacts
Thomas W. Dickson
Lucy Bixby
Merchandise Manager
Assistant Manager, Museum Shop
Oldest House: Mrs. Abram Niles Hadwen House-Satler Memorial: Mrs. Richard Strong Whaling Museum: James A. Watts, Alfred N. Orpin, Mrs. Edward Dougan, Gerald Ryder Greater Light: Dr. Selina T. Johnson Peter Foulger Museum: Mrs. Margaret Crowell; Alcon Chadwick, Everett Finlay, Marjorie A. Burgess Macy-Christian House: Mrs. Helen S. Soverino Old Mill: Millers: Richard Swain, Thomas Seager Fair Street Museum: Mrs. William Witt, Mrs. Kathleen Barcus • • • Historic Nantucket* • • Edouard A. Stackpole, Editor Merle T. Orleans, Assistant Editor
Historic Nantucket
Published Q u a r t e r l y and d e v o t e d to t h e preservation of Nantucket's antiquity, its f a m e d h e r i t a g e and its illustrious past a s a whaling port. Volume 33
January, 1986
No. 3
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
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Editorial - "The Magic Carpet"
5
The Restoration of the Schooner Bowdoin by Renny A. Stackpole
7
Wintertime by Eleanor Dixon Glidden
11
The Nantucket Skipper by James T. Field
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Ebenezer Porter Mason by Dr. Dorrit Hoffleit
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The Last Nantucket "Daily"
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The Romantic Whaleman - Artist, Jacob Ray, Logbook Keeper of the E d w a r d C a r y by Edouara A. Stackpole
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"Whaler Luck"
25
Nantucket Nostalgia by Leeds Mitcnell, Jr.
26
Bequests/Address Changes
28
James S.Russell on his 100th Birthday
30
Historic Nantucket (USPS 246-160) is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is sent to Association members and extra copies may be pur chased for $3.00 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Nantucket Historical Associa tion, P.O. Box 1016, Nantucket, MA 02554. Membership dues are: Individual $15, Family $25, Supporting $50, Contributing $100, Sponsor $250, Patron $500, Life Benefactor $2,500. Second-class postage paid at Nantucket Massachusetts. Communications pertaining to the Publication should be addressed to the Editor, Historic Nan tucket, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554.
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The Magic Carpet IN THOSE NOT-SO-LONG-AGO years, when the evening hours found reading a pleasure, and the modern television and motion picture cassettes had not lulled us to contentment, two of the most popular books for both young and old were the tales of the Brothers Grimm and the stories found in the Arabian Nights. Among the latter was that in triguing tale of The Magic Carpet. How appealing it was to the im aginative: To float over the landscape on a magical and colorful woven carpet, observing the scene below by the effortless movement of the spreading and completely safe transport. If such a magical journey could take place today, and the oldsters could have that extraordinary pleasure, what a scene could be unfolded below us. Sweeping over the landscape from Tristram's Landing to Tom Never's old domain, ranging from Dionis on the north shore to Surfside on the south, a plethora of housing developments appear, blot ting out the old familiar scenes, overcoming the sheep commons and changing the old homestead land to a bewildering degree. The vistas of the old have become aspects of the modern world. The old Nantucket Island landscape has taken on an appearance more in keeping with the mainland urban areas; a look which is a contrast, not a comparison, and may be termed alien and drab. Now the magic carpet changes direction, and sweeps over the old town. Here evidence of the modern trends betrays itself. Many of the streets leading from the historic Main Street square contained homes, dwellings identified with the town's development of more than a cen tury and a quarter ago, that now have become swallowed up by com mercial use. The demands of business ventures are evident on every land. The inherent dangers to the preservation of the old town are all too evident. A poet of the last century once wrote about one's homeland, stating in a simple poetic phrase, "They loved the land because it was their own." Do those who are the new owners lay claim to it because they feel the same way? If it were possible for the magic carpet to convey these present possessors back into time, for a view of the scene in 1885, and then, with a flourish of the woven strands, again sweep over the same landscape - would they understand that what we have lost can never be regained? Edouard A. Stackpole
The Bowdoin under way
7
The Restoration of the Schooner Bowdoin Also Revived a Maritime Tradition by Renny A. Stackpole AN HISTORIC AMERICAN vessel has been completely restored and will once more resume her role at sea. She now rides at anchor at Rockland, Maine, and when she sails again in 1986 she will revive a New England maritime tradition. She is the Arctic exploring schooner Bowdoin, and for nearly thirty-five years, under the command of her owner, Admiral Donald B. MacMillan, she completed twenty-six voyages to North Atlantic waters, engaged in Arctic exploration and scientific research. My first glimpse of this graceful, white-hulled schooner was in 1959, when she came to Mystic Seaport to be enshrined. At the same time I had my first meeting with her owner and skipper, Admiral Mac Millan, and recognized the unique qualities of the man who had taken his schooner on her many Arctic voyages from 1921 to 1954. He lectured that evening at the old meeting house and I absorbed every part of his recounting of his adventures. At the conclusion of this remarkable octogenarian's discourse, and the usual congratulations and tributes, Admiral MacMillan disap peared from the hall, vanishing into the darkness out-of-doors. My father, who was at the time the Curator of Mystic Seaport, smiled at my query as to the whereabouts of the guest of honor. He had a hunch and told me where I might find him. Only a few yards away alongside a wharf at the river side, almost hidden by the night, we found "Captain Mac", standing quietly by the wheel of his schooner. After greeting him, I stayed for a while and he naturally lapsed into memories. I will not forget what he said before he returned to the meeting house that night. "I believe the Bowdoin will sail again." Then with his voice clear and sharp, "How would you like to take her north!" It was unmistakable; the veteran explorer had foreseen the even tual revival of the schooner as an active schoolship a decade later. During his quarter century in command of the Bowdoin, "Captain Mac" never took a seasoned crew aboard his 88-foot schooner. Instead, he favored students and research scientists who might hand, reef, steer, and lend a hand to the prodigious research he had initiated as
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
part of the Crocker Land Expedition, based at Etah, Greenland. While waiting four years (1913-17) for a relief party to arrive there MacMillan began plans for building his Arctic research schooner Bowdoin. Designed in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, by William Hand, the 66 ton vessel was built by the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, in 1921. For the next 33 years the Bowdoin logged 300,000 miles while serving as a learning laboratory for hundreds of Mac's "boys", all talented individuals from prep schools and colleges. Under the master teacher MacMillan, lessons were learned leading to careers in anthropology, ethnology, glaciology, oceanography, or or nithology. For most of these young men, it was the most memorable ex perience of their lives. His fellow explorer and wife, Miriam, in 1935, began accompanying MacMillan on his voyages making nine trips. She is today still very active, working on the archives, compiling material for the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College. (Her ex plorer husband died in 1970 at age 95). The MacMillan touch is recognized in her planning, and it is to be noted that the Bowdoin's widest point of beam (21 feet) is abaft of amidships, thus protecting her rudder and propeller from ice damage. She is double planked and double framed with native Maine white oak. To sheath her for northern work, a five foot belt of "iron" wood, also known as greenheart, affords extra protection from ice. She is short rigged for heavy weather in Davis or Frobisher Straits. The lack of top masts or bowsprit eliminates the danger of losing students over the side while furling sail at sea. Originally she had two watertight bulkheads so that, if injured at bow or stern, she would still float. At present she is rebuilt with five watertight bulkheads (three with watertight doors). To give Bowdoin extra stability, 21 tons of cement is molded into her hull giving her unequaled robustness. Time and again Bowdoin was beset with thick pack ice and owing to the deadrise of the waterline, her V shape allowed the vessel to be lifted almost completely out of water, gently lying on her side, always to float again. Her shrouds and stays are steel; her masts and booms of Oregon fir. For power she has a 190 horsepower Cummins diesel engine. Two 500 lb. anchors and 90 fathoms of studlink chain add an impressive ground tackle system. She has been known to cruise at seven and one half knots under both engine and sail. Presently Bowdoin has both a 24 and 110 volt system (along with a 12 volt emergency lighting). An electric windlass and refrigeration are found aboard. For cooking she is equipped with an oil burning galley stove. She sleeps fifteen, two in the after cabin, six in the midships, and seven in the forecastle.
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Within two months of her launching in March 1921, Bowdoin head ed north on her first voyage, with the West coast of Baffin Island as her objective. She was the first vessel to circumnavigate Foxe Basin, going as far North as the entrance to Fury and Hecla Strait. Following, on her return to the East coast, Bowdoin wintered at what is now known as "Schooner Harbor" inside the Trinity Islands. This expedition was sponsored by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. During her Arctic career, Bowdoin explored, surveyed, and map ped the uncharted regions of Labrador, Baffin Island, and Greenland. From on board the staunch schooner, the first short wave radio com munications from the Arctic were sent in 1923, while wintering in Refuge Harbor, Greenland. In 1925, Bowdoin was flagship of the U.S. Navy-National Geographic expeditions in which Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett flew amphibious aircraft over the Polar Sea for the first time. Indeed, Bowdoin is the only auxiliary schooner ever built in America specifically designed for Arctic exploration. Bearing her name and still painted white, Bowdoin served the U.S. Navy during World War II, as she was used to provide accurate observations for charts, thus allowing safe navigation for transport and cargo vessels serving important bases in Greenland. In 1968, after almost ten years on exhibit at Mystic, the ravages of time and excessive fresh water rot had taken their toll. The Seaport Museum lacked the funds for the task of saving her. Alarmed by the condition of the vessel, friends of the MacMillans formed the Schooner Bowdoin Association, and purchased the vessel with the goal of partial ly restoring her as a schoolship. Captain Jim Sharp valiantly pieced her back into sailing shape. A decade later it was agreed that Bowdoin must be completely rebuilt to satisfy Coast Guard Certification and stability. She was haul ed at the Percy-Small Shipyard at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. For four years she was painstakingly dismantled and then rebuilt to her original scantlings. Her restoration was accomplished through the dedication of hundreds of individuals who gave their time and resources. In keeping with the stringent requirements of the Coast Guard, the Bowdoin boasts the best in safety gear, navigational aids, and the op portunity for research students using computerized gear on board. With her proud history and A-l condition, schools and colleges will find her a remarkable resource for sea education ventures. When, on the occasion of the rededication of the Statue of Liberty,
R E S T O R A T I O N O F T H E BOWDOIN
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in July, 1986, the Bowdoin, with its characteristic ice-barrel on her foremast, will be in the "grand parade", representing the state of Maine and sixty-five years of our American maritime enterprise. And with the exciting heritage of our nation, the sturdy schooner will also symbolize an almost unknown chapter of Arctic adventurethe first American whaleships in these waters. During the midEighteenth century, several Nantucket brigs went into Davis and Frobisher Straits, hunting the whale which the English, Dutch and French vessels had found there. Leading these New England craft were the Nantucketers, Captain Richard Pinkham in the Seaflower, Captain Benjamin Bunker in the Grampus, Captain Beriah Fitch in the Polly, and Captain Francis Swain in the Mary. It was to be many years before the Nantucket whalemen returned to the area, and this with individuals rather than ships. In the 1880's, Captain Timothy Clisby was whaling in Cumberland Sound, and George E. Coffin, George Folger and Nelson Ewer sailed with Captain Spicer in the E ra to Hudson Bay. The spirit of their enterprise is a part of the tradition, and also a part of the sturdy Bowdoin's return to the old, familiar haunts.
Winter The cat-o-nine-tail has grown old Grown colorless and quiet, almost dead, And to keep from freezing Wears a fluffy tam-o-shanter on her head. There's a gull with only one leg On a twisted old chimney top Of a house that is shuttered and dark. Like a pirate of old with his peg. He raucously screams At the thickening fog With a bitterness wantonly stark. Eleanor Dixon Glidden
The Nantucket Skipper THE FOLLOWING POEM is probably traditionally familiar to the most of our readers, but there are many who will doubtless appreciate reading it in its en tirety. It is entitled The Nantucket Skipper, and was written by James T. Field many years ago. Many a long, long year ago, Nantucket skippers had a plan Of finding out, though "lying low", How near New York their schooners ran. They greased the lead before it fell, And then, by sounding through the night, Knowing the soil that stuck so well, They always guessed their reckoning right. A skipper gray, whose eyes were dim, Could tell, by tasting, just the spot; And so below he'd "dowse the glim"— After, of course, his "something hot". Snug at his berth at eight o'clock, This ancient skipper might be found; No matter how his craft would rock, He slept — for skippers' naps are sound. The watch on deck would now and then Run down and wake him, with the lead; He'd up and taste, and tell the men How many miles they went ahead. One night 'twas Jotham Marden's watch; A curious wag — the peddler's son; And so he mused (the wanton wretch), "Tonight I'll have a grain of fun." "We're all a set of stupid fools To think the skipper knows by tasting What ground he's on; Nantucket schools Don't teach some stuff, with all their basting!" And so he took the well-greased lead And'rubbed it o'er a box of earth That stood on deck — a parsnip bed And then he sought the skipper's berth. "Where are we now, sir; please to taste," The skipper yawned, put out his tongue, Then ope'd his eyes in wondrous haste, And then upon the floor he sprung! The skipper stormed and tore his hair, Thrust on his boots and roared to Marden — "Nantucket's sunk and here we are Right over old Marm Hackett's garden!"
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Ebenezer Porter Mason and His Childhood Impressions of Nantucket 1830-1835 by Dr. Dorrit Hoffleit Department of Astronomy Yale University EBENEZER PORTER MASON was a genius who, in his short life of just 21 years, accomplished more than most intellectually able men could do in twice or thrice that span. Born in Washington, Connecticut, December 7,1819, he lost his mother when he was only three years old. A letter written to his aunt, Mrs. Harriet B. Turner of Richmond, Virginia, when he was seven, indicates his early perspicacity: Washington, April 8,1826 My Dear Aunt— I thought you would be glad to hear from me, and as I have been learning to write, I thought I would write you a letter. A part of the winter I went to Mr. Saunders's School and studied Latin. I have read the books which you brought me last summer, and I like "Jack Halyard" best. I like "Evenings in New England" very well, and "Kings of England" nearly as well as Jack Halyard. Burr* sends his love to you, and we both wish to see you. B. likes "Poetic Tales," and "Robert and William," the best of all his books. Burr and I play with our bows and arrows, our hoops and our balls, and I should like to be old enough to have a kite. Please give my best to my cousins in Richmond. Your affectionate nephew Ebenezer Porter Mason *His younger brother, David Burr Mason
From the time he was eight this aunt assumed the care and up bringing of this precocious but delicate child. Already at that time globes were his favorite play things, and he used a celestial globe to teach himself the constellations. At age nine he wrote his younger brother, "I am now studying Chemistry, French, English Grammar, Arithmetic and Composition. I am reading Scott's Recueil in French." A year later he acquired an English book, "Wonders of the Heavens," and at twelve Burritt's Star Maps became his constant evening compa nions.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
His father, Stephen Mason, a Congregational minister, was always financial circumstances, but did all he was able for his children. In 1829 he was called to the Congregational Church in Nantucket where he reunited his small family (he had remarried again in 1824) and Porter (the boy went by his middle name) followed in 1830. After his premature death in 1840 his Yale professor, Denison Olmsted, wrote the biography of this oustandingly gifted student, "Life and Writings of Ebenezer Porter Mason; Interspersed with Hints to Parents and In structors on the Training and Education of a Child Genius" (1842). ji poor
Thus we have numerous letters the boy wrote his aunt and others, giving his impressions of the Island and even some poetry inspired by the Island. His chief interests even as a small child had been poetry and astronomy. Olmsted does not mention Maria Mitchell, only one year older than Porter; but Helen Wright in "Sweeper in the Sky" mentions that Maria occasionally took her friend Ebenezer Porter Mason with her to visit the library of her relative, Cousin Walter Folger. One can not imagine two more kindred spirits than Maria and Porter. After Porter left the Island in 1835 Maria lost contact with him. All of the quotations recorded here are from Olmsted's book. Porter's first letter from Nantucket, addressed to Mrs. Turner, was dated July 11,1830: "My Dear Aunt— " I have so many things to tell you, that I hardly know where to begin. I had a very pleasant passage, and I can say that I was not sick at all on the voyage. I intended to go from New York on Friday evening, when I could have company; but that very day at din ner, I heard that there was a sloop going to Nantucket next morning, the very one which father and our fami ly went in. I resolved to go in it, but it was now four o'clock in the afternoon and it was to sail at five. I had to pack up very quick and go on board. I arrived here Sunday afternoon after a passage of about two days. "All Sunday there was a brisk wind against us. When I came to the wharf, I was surprised to see so large a city. It was nearly as large as Richmond, and the population is between seven and eight thousand. The place is called Nantucket. The houses are nearly all of wood, and are painted any way, white one side, red another, green another, or some such way, and they are for the most part covered all over with shingles. They have walks on the top to get a view of the sea. "There are some trees on the island. In the town they are about as thick as on Shocco Hill in Richmond;
EBENEZER PORTER MASON
but in the country there are not any except a small grove for the cattle to find shelter from the storms. The soil is sandy, but when I rode out of town the grass was so green, and all was so pleasant, that I never thought of the want of trees and fences. There are a great many more ships and vessels here than in Rich mond, most of which are engaged in the whale fishery. When I came into port they were so thick that our sloop could hardly enter. There have been several launches here since I arrived, one of which I went to see; but as they could not prepare it till several hours afterwards, I returned. There is but one steamboat here at present, called the Marco Bozzaris, which runs twice a week between here and New Bedford. "D. and I entered Coffin-school Monday June 28th. It is a large school, and a great many boys are idle and vicious. Nine of them were whipped yesterday after noon. I now study Caesar, Arithmetic, Reading, and Writing. "Our house is large, and there are rooms in the base ment story, in one of which D. and I have chisels and other tools, with which we make ships, hen-coops, &-tc. L. has a baby-house up stairs in her room in which are about six babies, which she instructs. D and I are both well, and Father and Mother are about half as well as we are. We have a hired servant named Martha. Her parents reside in a part of town called New Guinea, where the blacks live, and they are a very merry set of people; and now when I wish myself in Guinea I can easily get there." The reader must not forget that it is the letter of a little boy, ten years old, that he is perusing; but while the style is simple and artless as became the age of the writer, the amount of information it contains respec ting his new residence, his studies and employments, and the situation of his family, is as great as could well be contained in so small a compass. Conciseness and simplicity of style were indeed qualities which always characterized his writings. His uncle, the Rev. Mr. Turner, used occasionally to indulge his humor with him amusing himself with the sprightly repartees which his pleasantry would elicit. His young friend was fond of receiving such let ters from his uncle, and always replied to them in a
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humorous though respectful tone. I subjoin a few ex tracts as illustrative of this element of young Mason's character. To the Rev. J.H. Turner "Nantucket, Sep. 25,1830 "My Dear Uncle— "I received your letter of September 2d, and derived much amusement from it. As for Nantucket, so far from being the "jumping off place," it lies exactly over the centre of the earth. "I went to Siasconset a few weeks ago, a small town on the northeastern part of Nantucket. On the beach the sea rolls very high. It is eight or nine miles from town, composed of fishermen's houses, mostly whitewashed, where the fishermen stay in the fishing season. A few of the wealthy people have handsome gardens and cottages there, where they reside in the summer season. People here are very fond of pud dings; they make blackberry puddings, whortleberry puddings, and puddings of nearly every thing they can be made of, including corn-puddings, which they manufacture out of green corn, and I like them very much. "I hope I shall not forget my obligation to you in your old age. My house (if I have one) and all its comforts must be shared with you, and my bed also. — I have not caught a whale yet, but the first one I catch shall be sent you. "Your affectionate nephew, E.P. Mason." To Mrs. H.B. Turner "Nantucket, June 3d, 1831 "My Dear Aunt— "I received your letter yesterday, and am much pleased to hear that you are better. I am now in the first class in school, and study Latin, Greek, Algebra, Geometry, Natural Philosophy, History, Rhetoric, Reading and Writing. I have given up French this quarter, because I could not get along with that, and my other studies. I got the first medal, or highest reward of merit, last quarter." By the autumn of 1832, Porter had acquired considerable proficien cy in Latin, Greek, French, and mathematics. He was thus well prepared for college. However, Yale set a lower limit of age fourteen
EBENEZER PORTER MASON
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for entrance to the Freshman class, and Porter was two years too young. According to Olmsted, "His friends, however, were desirous of obtaining for him more finished instruction, and more personal atten tion, than could be obtained in so large and promiscuous a school as that of Nantucket." Hence the Rev. Mr. Mason sent him to Ellington, a new institution near Hartford, for preparing boys for college. There the boy "pro secuted his studies with great zeal." By 1834 the Rev. Mason unfor tunately found himself in such financial straits that Porter had to leave Ellington. He returned to Nantucket as a teaching assistant in the school he had previously attended. He wrote to Mrs. Turner: "Nantucket, Sept. 1834 "My Dear Aunt— "I am now busily engaged during the day in school, and like the employment pretty well, though I had rather be a scholar than a teacher. I have begun a course of History, and have finished the first volume of Hume, writing a compendium of all I read. "I have written no poetry since I left Ellington, ex cept an acrostic for a man who wished one for his wife, and a few others at the request of friends. As Nan tucket is so destitute of fountains and running waters, I can find here no Castalian spring for the accommoda tions of the Muses... "When the eye is confined to a narrow spot of earth, it naturally turns upward to the sky; and the star that shone on the crest of the wave must have made a more durable impression on his mind, and inspired him with a deeper reverence of the wonders of nature, than the same luminary could have done as it shone through the maples that shaded the place of his nativity." Mason remained at this period only about two years at Nantucket, but this time seems to have passed very pleasantly and profitably. "He always (says Mr. Hollister) spoke of Nantucket with enthusiasm, as the spot where his mind had developed itself with the greatest rapidity. This he attributed more to the situation of the place than to any other cause. The peculiar habits of the islanders, (he said) living as it were in a little world of their own, the sun rising out of the water, and the stars reflecting upon its surface in the evening made an impression upon my mind that I could not forget." In 1835, Mason's sojourn on the Island ended, unhappily. As Olmsted reports, "The Rev. Mr. Mason's labors at Nantucket were
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more arduous than he could sustain, and he was dismissed from his people with much uncertainty hanging over him and his family, not on ly in respect to their future prospects, but even as to their immediate support." Porter bade his farewell in verse before departing for Rich mond for the summer: Farewell to Nantucket "Thou art a barren spot of earth, A lonely island of the sea, And though thou'rt not my place of birth, Thou'st been a welcome to me. And now, when I must leave thy shore, I cannot go without a tear, To think I cannot see thee more, Nor tread thy fields to memory dear, 'Tis not alone thy soil I love, But heave a sad and sorrowing heart, That when from thee I far remove, From dearest friends I too must part. I go to distant, milder lands, But in my bosom cherish still, The fond remembrance of my friends — Thou sea-girt island, Fare thee well!" When Porter presented himself at Yale in August for examinations for entering the Freshman class, Olmsted "was immediately struck by the superiority of his mathematical powers and attainments." The ex aminers were agreed that he would make a first-rate mathematician. One of Porter's greatest joys that fall was viewing Halley's comet through the college telescopes. (It had been Olmsted and Tutor Loomis who preceded William Mitchell as the first in America to spot the com et on its eagerly awaited return.) Olmsted has remained famous for having written many texts on natural philosophy and astronomy. One, "Rudiments of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy" went through more than 50 editions, and in all 200,000 copies of his various books were sold. When Mason had graduated from Yale and needed a job, Olmsted employed him for proof reading and helping to edit his latest book, "Introduction to Astronomy". Mason did such a meticulously fine job that Olmsted encouraged him to write a treatise on practical astronomy to be used in conjunction with his own book. This work was intermittently interrupted by
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Mason's craving to make more and more telescopic observations. Then, in the last year of his life he undertook the arduous task of joining a survey expedition, August 24 to October 29,1840, to determine the ex act boundary between the state of Maine and Canada. On his return to New Kaven, in mid-November then, in seriously failing health, he finished his treatise, "Introduction to Practical Astronomy, Designed as a Supplement to Olmsted's Astronomy". One authority described this as "superior to anything of the kind in any language." On December 1 Mason started on his long final journey home to Richmond where he arrived in Mid-December. In his last letter, writ ten December 19 to Olmsted, he regrets that he could not write a preface to the treatise, but still optimistic that he might do so in four or five days, but "If I fail upon it, why, you can write one, or the treatise can go without." He died a week later, December 26,1840, age 21 years 19 days.
Dr. Hoffleit was for a number of years Director of the Maria Mit chell Observatory on Vestal Street, and lived in the cottage next door.
The Last Nantucket "Daily" THE LAST DAILY paper published on Nantucket was "The 'Sconset Visitor", issued from the Journal office during the summer of 1889. The previous season "The 'Sconset Pump" had been issued as a daily from The Inquirer and Mirror office, but neither was a paying investment, and each was a diminutive affair. In 1873 S. Heath Rich issued an amateur journal from a small hand press, it being a four-page sheet, 8¥2 x 12 inches, called "The Magnet", two columns to a page, six inches long. Later in the 70's Fred V. Fuller, Albert G. Brock and other young men of that day published a little paper called "The Sherburne News", which flourished for a brief period. For an amateur journal this was a very creditable production.
Logbook of the Edward Cary of Nantucket
The Romantic Whaleman — Artist, Joseph Ray Logbook Keeper on the Ship Edward Cary by Edouard A. Stackpole THE LOGBOOK OF a whaleship, that becomes the official record of the voyage, is usually kept by the first mate, and turned over to the ship's owners on return to port. These are the authentic accounts of the long passage to the whaling grounds, of the areas where the whales were taken, the ports visited for supplies, and other incidents in the long months at sea, including the adventures of the crew and officers. They are the priceless records which provide the whaling historian with the facts, and are, of a rule, terse and prosaic. Whenever a separate journal is found, a personal account, kept by an individual, either an officer or foremast hand, it adds the extra in formation which completes the story of the voyage. These journals are the exception to the rule of logbook keeping and generally provide fascinating reading. One such a private journal is among the treasures in the Nantucket Historical Association's library and is an invaluable possession. It was written and illustrated by Joseph Edward Ray, 21-year-old crew member on board the whaleship Edward Cary, dur ing the years 1854-1858, a Nantucket whaler under the command of Cap tain Perry Winslow and one of the ships owned by the firm of Charles & Henry Coffin. The voyage of the Edward Cary, as revealed by Joseph E. Ray in his journal has the unusual feature of having drawings in color by the talented young man, as these illustrations reveal incidents which help dramatize the voyage. As an example, in listing the names of officers and crew the artist has used an elaborate design as a head-piece on the top of the page, with an eagle holding a banner which identifies the ship's members by name and place of residence when they sign on. Ten of the crew were Portuguese from the Azores, with men from Fall River, Buffalo, Boston, Scoharie, and Nantucket. The officers were all from Nantucket. Joseph E. Ray was recorded as boatsteerer, (a harpooner), usually a post of importance for an experienced hand. One of the unusual facts concerning this voyage was that Captain Perry Winslow had taken his wife and two of their children on board — a son, John M. Winslow, and a daughter Sarah Bunker Winslow. Another fact of interest is that the Edward Cary, upon reaching the South Atlantic, did not go around Cape Horn but sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, thence to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
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Joseph E. Ray's journal is not only an accurate, day-by-day record of that four-year voyage, but with the colored drawings dramatizes to a marked degree some of the outstanding incidents. His firm clear hand writing brings us a fascinating combination of his private thoughts, and some of his shipmates', reflections on home and loved ones, romantic interludes ashore, and the routines of shipboard life. He tells of the ships sighted and spoken (contact long enough for a "gam"), whales chased and whales taken, South Sea Islands visited, and storms weathered. One of young Ray's word pictures, as graphic as his watercolors, is a description of a tropical storm. He wrote: "It was the most awful tempest I ever knew since going to sea. The wind blew tremendously from the east-southeast, with the rain in torrents - the night so dark as to render it impossible to see the hand before the face, save when the blue lightning flashed, lighting up the sea for miles around. The dreadful thunder roll ed and sent chills to the stoutest heart. All hands were visibly impressed with feelings of awe, for surely it was the voice of God." The whaleman journalist mentions dreams of home, and often writes the names of the girls he knew at home, sometimes in the margins of his Journal. During a stop at Raratonga Island, he states: "Old Brown and I are up to our necks in oranges." One may appreciate the description of enjoying fresh fruit after months at sea and a diet of salt beef. On the occasion of meeting another Nantucket whaleship, the Potomac, "on the line," (the equator), it was learned that this ship's master, Captain Enoch Ackley, had died and was buried at sea, and Captain Oliver Swain had taken command. On July 4, 1855, the ship's company duly observed the birthday of the nation by: "firing guns, Crackers, Torpedoes, Pistols and all kinds of things to make noise." While visiting that favorite anchorage in the "Bay of Islands," New Zealand, they met a dozen whaleships, among them the Planter, Monticello, Ganges, and Mohawk of Nantucket. The rescue of young Samuel Christian, a fellow-islander, after falling overboard at night; the occasion when the flying jib-boom gave way, carrying away headstays and the fore-topgallant mast was duly reported, and when the ship sailed slowly past a desolate island on the equator, which a homesick mariner had dubbed "New Nantucket," the journalist stated the names had been so bestowed by "a few chuckleheads."
"THAR BLO-O-OS!" George Grant Gives The Time-Honored Whaling Call. In 1927 George Grant, among the last of the Nantucket men to "go whaling", posed for Austin Strong on the cross-trees of a mast at Old North Wharf, where he demonstrated a look-out giving the "cry" which announced the sighting of a whale.
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One of the memorable days was a planned meeting of three Nan tucket whaleships off French Rock on Christmas Day, 1855 - the Ganges, under Captain John Nicholson, the Mohawk, under Captain Charles Grant, and the Edward Cary, under Captain Perry Winslow. The occasion was unique as on all these Nantucket vessels the ship masters had their wives, and some of their children on board. A Christmas dinner of roast pig and South Sea island fruits were enjoyed. However the Edward Cary did not enjoy a highly successful voyage, but had a wide range of voyaging from the Atlantic to the In dian Ocean, thence to the central Pacific Ocean. The many whaleships she met indicate the numbers from many ports then engaged in the whale fishery. While working off Lord the crew, on a Sunday, were sent ashore for wood, and Ray confided to his journal: "Six days shalt thee labour, and on the seventh break thy back!" The ship Edward Cary had an honorable career as a whaler out of Nantucket from 1841, when she was built, until 1858, when she was sold, and was owned by three whaling firms on the Island. After twentyseven years she was sold at San Franscisco, and resumed her whaling experience out of that city. In 1865 she was among the whaleships cap tured and burned by the Confederate raider Shenandoah. An intriguing episode in the life at sea of Joseph Ray took place in 1857 while the ship was visiting Norfolk Island, the home of some of the descendants of the famous Bounty mutiny survivors, who had been transported from Pitcairn Island to a new home at Norfolk. While ashore during the ship's visit, Ray met and promptly fell in love with Miss Anna McCoy of the Pitcairn group. Upon the inevitable parting, when the Edward Cary sailed, he wrote a few lines of verse to her, some of which are as follows: Dear Anna, now farewell, Since fate compels us thus to part May God protect thee from life's ills, And guard the tablets of thy heart. But the ship never returned to Norfolk on this voyage, and she returned to Nantucket, where she arrived six months later, on August 8,1858. It is entirely probable that he intended to return to Norfolk, as he shipped out on another whaleship a few weeks after his return to Nantucket. The preservation of this remarkable journal is also a grim reminder of the sequel to the adventures of the talented journalist.
THE E D W A R D C A R Y LOGBOOK
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Joseph E. Ray, upon his return to Nantucket, shipped out again on another whaleship, the Meteor, of Mystic, Connecticut. While working aloft, during a tempest, he fell from the foremast yard into the sea, and was lost. This promising young man was the son of Benjamin and Judith Ray, and his birthplace on Mill Street still stands. He was one of four brothers, and they all met death as young men - Charles died in California, James H. and Alfred C. were both victims of a drowning ac cident when the whaleboat from their ship was capsized in the surf while attempting a landing on the coast of Chile, South America, near Tombez.
Whaler Luck
A whaler from Nantucket town He had the worst o' luck; He sailed far south around the Horn But not a whale he struck. Three years he cruised, north, east, and west, From pole to torrid zone And when he laid his cruise for home, He'd neither oil nor bone. Yet as he sailed around Brant Point, He set his pennant high, And when he tied up to the wharf He lustily did cry: "We've come home clean as we went out, And we didn't raise a whale, An' we ain't got a ber'l o' ile But we've had a d-d fine sail."
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Nantucket Nostalgia by Leeds Mitchell, Jr. ANYONE WHO HAS more than casually observed Nantucket over even a few years in recent times has noted with deep sadness the ac celerated passing of its simply, beautiful and lovable quaintness. Those of us with many years of memories view the unrecoverable past with a bittersweet nostalgia. Though the memories are sweet, the contrast with today is bitter. Some memorable images of mine: Uncatena and Gay Head sidewheeling their dainty course past Brant Point, breathy but musical whistles saluting the Town; hausfrau Lillian making her stately passage up harbor and back; the whistle salutes for departing residents, sounded from the steamers in answer to lowered ensigns at the Wharf Rat Club and harborside homes, to the bell at The Point and the horn at the end of the East Jetty; the Main Street fetes; the steam fishing boat Petrel rounding The Point en route to the shark grounds (shark meat is most palatable, often served as "sea scallops); the Nan tucket dialect, distinctive, salty, rich in character (nowadays everyone sounds like Dan Rather). And Old North Wharf with its wonderfully variegated cast of denizens: Uncle Sidney Mitchell, Austin Strong, Bay Wilson and his kids, Pete Pedersen, Herb Coffin, Johnny Cross, et al. Sid had a catboat-turned yawl, and he spent every day of his stay on the Island at her wheel (no tiller on Mnemoosha) in the waters be tween Tuckernuck and Great Point. When at home in his boathouse he was a host we young fry loved - plenty of lemonade and cookies. He en joyed a moderate amount of whiskey and an immoderate number of cigars. When he would come to visit my father, who prided himself on his stock of fine whiskey, and Havana cigars, Sid would bring his own preferred brand of "stogies" and "rot gut." "Uncle Austie" occupies a special niche in my Nantucket pan theon. He was a special friend, a fine teacher, a role model. He was delightfully colorful in everything he did, whether telling stories about his most interesting past, reading one of his plays or just yarning. When he taught us to sail in his little dinghy he would send us out to practice maneuvers he had assigned, would watch us working at them, then call us back to the boathouse and squeeze a spongeful of cold sea water down our backs for each transgression.
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Pete Pedersen had sailed in both square riggers and steam. He had made a living splicing heavy wire cable, an incredibly arduous task in which few men persisted for more than a few days. Pete taught me splicing, both wire and rope, but spared me the big stuff. He was also a fine craftsman; as I write I can look up and see his fine model of a boat I once owned, all details inlaid into a lovely piece of teak. Herb Coffin's dry but ample humor made the early days of the Wharf Rat Club a real joy and something of a challenge - a challenge because at the slightest sign of self-importance one would be flayed by Herb's rapier wit. His yarns in his real Nantucket dialect were worthy of recording, but unfortunately no one did record them. One of the Club's required pastimes was the telling of tall tales - and Herb truly earned his title of Commodore. Johnny Cross kept his council unless one brought him a mechanical problem to solve. After reading Helen Wilson Sherman's piece in the October edition of Historic Nantucket, I guess she didn't find him reti cent, but then girls always had the edge - even in sailing, in Helen's case. In its character, and characters, perhaps Old North Wharf was simply a microcosm of the Island at large. It was worthy of memory, of nostalgia. It has not improved with age.
Bequests or gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association are tax deductible. They are greatly needed and appreciated.
PLEASE — Send us your change of address if you are planning to move. You will receive your copy sooner and we are charg ing extra for all copies returned because of incorrect address.
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To James S. Russell On His One Hundredth Birthday To the Editor of Historic Nantucket: I am enclosing a poem found in a diary belonging to my greatgreat-grandfather, James S. Russell. The poem was written and presented to James upon the celebration of his one hundredth birthday on May 13,1930.1 felt that you might find it interesting as to the fre quent mention of Nantucket and his ancestors. I read the poems in "Historic Nantucket" and thought you might like to share this with other readers, since there were a large number of Nantucket men that came to California in search of gold. I am also enclosing some copies of newspaper articles which detail some of James' life. I hope that you find them interesting. Sincerely, Linda Van Gundy 416 Spinnaker Way Sacramento, CA 95831
A Century ago you saw the light On far New England shore. Few live the allotted three score years and ten, Yet you have seen five score. The blood of fearless, hardy pioneers Flowed hotly in your veins, So you too sought adventure's daring rod Unheeding of her pains. While yet a youth, from your Nantucket home You sailed upon your quest A weary, toilsome voyage around the Horn, Seeking the Golden West.
MR. RUSSELL'S ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY
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With many another ocean-loving soul Who sailed the stormy brine You landed at an epoch-making time The days of Forty-nine. Lured by the tales of unimagined wealth Men left the sea behind, And travelled far afield to seek a share Of riches still unmined. You came to El Dorado's pine-clad hills, Where gold had first been found, To make your home, and gain your daily bread Out of rocky ground. In cheerful industry and honest toil You passed the busy days; Honored by all, respected and beloved, None knew you save to praise. You kept a faithful record of those years A history of that time When blood ran wild, when days and nights were steeped In lawlessness and crime. At anchor in this peaceful harbor - safe Removed from crowds and strife, You now at last, after busy years Reviewed your well-spent life. With hearts filled to the brim with kindly thoughts, We gather where you dwell: Friends, relatives and neighbors - one and all Unite to wish you well. _ . Rescue, California, May the Thirteenth, 1930 From the diary of James S. Russell (1830-1930)
Ethel Hawks
