LOT #47053 |
Starting Bid: $1,750
Whaling Journal of the Ship Monticello of Nantucket, 1845-1850....
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Description
Circa 1846 whaling log that includes mention of Black sailors and travel to the Sandwich Islands
Whaling Journal of the Ship Monticello of
Nantucket, 1845-1850. Tall folio book measuring approximately 8
1/2 x 13 1/2 inches, 262 pages (6 blank), bound quarter leather
with marbled boards. It covers the Monticello's voyage
across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans from October 1845
to May 1850. The journal contains 16 whale stamps or drawings,
indicating whales caught; 21 whale tails, indicating whales chased
and lost; and two whale heads, indicating whales caught and shared
with other ships.The journal chronicles the ship's five-year voyage with daily entries noting positions, weather, sail changes, and crew activities, along with notable events including a crew uprising, the deaths of two sailors, the replacement of the main mast, and a visit to the Sandwich Islands. At the back, there is a record of goods traded, lists of ships encountered and mail carried home, and a hand-drawn map of an island "off Cape Horn." As noted in the crew's manifest and by an inscription on the front free endpaper, the ship was captained by John M. Folger, a Nantucket native. Folger went to sea at just thirteen in 1831 and spent more than two decades whaling before settling in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1859. He died there in 1889 at age seventy; also included is a period mourning card from Folger's funeral.
The journal's first entry, dated October 13, 1845, is typical of the entries it comprises: "Commences with clean weather & fresh breezes from the South ship lying at the outer Roads of Nantucket ready for sea Middle fronts strong winds at SSE at 4 AM came on rainy at 6 AM the rain ceased and the wind hauled to the Westward at 8 AM took a Pilot on board at 10 got under way the wind at North under single reefed Topsails at noon beating by Great Point with clean weather & a brisk breeze at North." From Nantucket, the Monticello sailed south, reaching Barbados in mid-November and continuing along the east and then southeast coasts of South America through the end of December. Throughout the voyage, it encountered porpoises and "grampuses" (small dolphins), as well as finback whales, "black fish" (pilot whales), and humpback whales. While the crew of the Monticello occasionally hunted and killed these whales, they were not marked with stamps in the journal-their primary target was the oil-rich sperm whale.
After nearly three months at sea, they captured their first sperm whale on January 14, 1846, just south of Cape Horn: "...at 4 PM saw sperm whale, to windward at 5 PM lowered for them at 6 PM struck a Whale got one boat stove at 9 PM took the Whale along side took in all Sail bid by the Whale through the night at 6 AM hooked on...at noon still cutting." The ship rounded Cape Horn and began sailing north along the coast of Chile, encountering other ships, catching black fish and finbacks, and occasionally anchoring to trade for food and dry goods. They caught their next sperm whale on February 26 just off the coast of Peru, then began sailing due West toward New Zealand.
On May 16, 1846, the Monticello stopped at Savai'i, but found the people there unwilling to trade on the Sabbath: "Steered off North by the NE part of the Island of Savai'i...9 AM stood in to a village which I discovered & lowered away a Boat & went in to trade with the Natives for Hogs and yams it being the Sabbath with them they would not Trade but said if I would stop on shore they would be most happy to Trade on the Morrow." Two weeks later, on May 30, the ship called at Ocean Island, Kiribati, to put ashore Dick Ocean, an indigenous crewmember listed in the manifest, and took on a man named John Lover in his place. From there they steered toward Japan, arriving in the "Japan Seas" in early July. They cruised there until October of that year, catching three sperm whales.
The entry dated October 12, 1846, records a fight between crewmembers that ended with three men being flogged: "At 10 PM the second Mate came down & called me out saying that the crew had raised against him I went imediatly on deck had all hands called aft made an attempt to seize up three of them...namely George Keith William H Myers & Henry Lockwood the two last coloured men Lockwood made some resistance striking at the Officer and crying out...I considered the three over and afore mentioned men deserved to be punished therefore I flogged them with the ropes ends to my thorough satisfaction they having acknowleged that they were the instigators with a promise to conduckt themselves in a proper manner hereafter..." Following this incident, they turned south again, heading back toward New Zealand. Cruising around New Zealand and the "Middle Ground" (the seas between New Zealand and Australia), they saw no success until 1847, finally taking one sperm whale on January 14 and another on February 1.
The entry for April 7, 1847 notes a problem with the main mast, and the ship was anchored in "New Milford" (now Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi) so that it could be inspected: "On the 10th took out the Main Mast called a survey on it and found it very rotten to [sic] much so to repair therefore condemned it from further use...On the 11th went up in the coasts found a Tree that would answer for a Mast & got it fell made a contract with a Mr Spickman for to get it out of the Bush on the 12th & 13th Carpenter employed at squaring the Tree..." The replacement mast took another month to raise, leaving the Monticello at anchor until May 12, when the crew finally set out again to continue cruising the Middle Ground.
Around this time the whale stamp seems to have been lost, as captures were not marked for several months before resuming in June 1848 with hand-drawn whales instead. During this stretch, the Monticello landed eleven sperm whales while sailing from New Zealand to Japan and back. The final recorded catch occurred on August 20, 1848, taken in cooperation with the Barque Holga. The ships divided the whale, with the Monticello receiving the head, indicated in the journal by a drawing of only the front half of the animal.
On October 29, 1848, in the midst of pursuing another sperm whale, tragedy struck when a young crewmember was thrown overboard and drowned. The entry for that date recounts the event in detail: "On Sunday 29th saw Sperm Whales at 3 PM...about 5 PM got fast one Boat the whale struck the Boat & stove her at the same time knocked several of Crew out of her the line coming taught [sic]...some of the men that were over board got hold of her all except one Hannibal H Daily consequently he was left astern & before they could render him any assistance he was drowned he sunk to rise no more in this world but I verily believe that his soul is now at rest with his God in Heaven where the angels are shouting for joy at his arrival there, I always found him a youth of good morals & steady habits...Blessed are those who die in the Lord."
This began a spate of poor luck for the Monticello; they failed to spot a single shoal of sperm whales for months, and, on January 14, 1849, one crewmember committed suicide: "At 9 AM missed a Boy a native of Manilla who went by the name of Charley searched the ship over but could not find him...in searching for the Boy we also missed a certain piece of Rope & a Bar of Iron that lay handy so come to the conclusion that Charley had taken them & jumped over board for what reason we know not."
The crew didn't catch a single sperm whale that year, and, in October 1849, Folger decided to turn the ship toward Hawaii, beginning their homeward journey: "Having cruised the Ground well over...without seeing the Spout of a sperm Whale I then concluded to bark in towards the Sandwich Islands where we arrived about the 1st of November into Hilo the principle Port in the Island of Ouyhee lay there to get wood & water which took about 10 days...could not get any recruits so took on Anchor & proceeded down to Lahaina 1st Mowee after getting there concluded to take in a Freight of Whale Bone for the United States the 27th of November at 3 PM got underweigh from Lahaina I took our departure for Honolulu to get some additional supplies not to be obtained at Mowee...5PM bid adieu to all our good Friends residing there & proceeded off to the Ship & got underweigh with a Strong NE Trade wind blowing." The articles from Lahaina that Folger mentions are recorded in the rear of the log: "Articles put on board at the Sandwich Islands to be Delivered at Nantucket...2 Kegs of Arrow Root for Robert McCleane / 1 Box of Couriosities for the Missionaries / 1 Keg of Syrup & 3 Mats of Sugar for C Rand / 1 Box for Calvin Swain."
The Monticello then sailed south down the coasts of Peru and Chile, around Cape Horn, and North again toward the United States. The final entry is dated May 2, 1850, with coordinates placing the ship between the east coast of the United States and Bermuda.
The final pages of the journal include "A List of Vessels Spoken with & heard of by 1849 Ship Monticello On her Homeward passage, a two-page list of "Ships having Letters & Papers on Board," and a list of "Slops delivered August 28 1847," detailing items of clothing and goods traded for by the crew. On the rear pastedown, there is a hand-drawn map in pencil labeled "Off Cape Horn Feb 9," depicting birds flying near a coast, with an island just off the south and several anchor points. While we could not match the map to an exact location, it is presumably of an area off the southern coast of Chile.
Condition: Covers detached and heavily worn with loss to leather and marbled boards; spine defective. Some early gatherings detached, but all are present; separations, chips, and short tears throughout, largely confined to the edges and only occasionally affecting text; some scattered staining.
Auction Info
2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction #6328 (go to Auction Home page)
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