Whaling Voyage Journal - Charles Murphey

Anthology Illustrations Source Whalesite

Ship Dauphin sailed Sept, 4, 1820, from Nantucket.

The following are the Officers:

ZIMRI COFFIN, of Nantucket, Master.
REUBEN KELLEY, of Nantucket, lst Mate.
GEORGE BROCK, of Nantucket, 2d Mate.
CHARLES MURPHEY, of Nantucket, 3d Mate.
JOSEPH HUSSEY, of Nantucket, and
LEVI SNOW, of Mattapoisett, Boatsteerers.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
s. w. snow,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

September fourth, on Monday morn,
The weather fine and clear,
We weighed our anchor to the bow,
And eastward we did steer,

Blessed with a sweet and pleasant gale,
From west-southwest it blew.
Success attend the Dauphin
And all her jovial crew.

Unto the girls we bid adieu,
Left on our native shore,
And likewise unto all our friends
For two long years or more.

'T was one-and-twenty men we had
This voyage to pursue,
And a-sperm-whaling we were bound
On Chili, and Peru

Then over the shoals our course we bent,
Where billows loudly roar.
The ship States left the bar with us;
Our company she bore.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

September the one-and-twentieth day,
The States in company,
About two points off our lee bow
A large sperm whale did lie.

We made all sail and stood away,
It being pleasant weather.
Our captains thought it best to heave
Our chances all together.

"Lower down your boats, and after her!"
Our captain then he cried.
And very soon we had him dead
And towed him alongside.

The body eighty barrels made;
The head, it then did sink;
'T was an unlucky circumstance,
A rare one too, I think.

October the fourth in the afternoon,
We Flores Isle did raise,
From Nantucket, our passage there
Was only thirty days.

Unto the southward then we steered
For Boa Vista's isle,
In hopes before we saw that land
To get some more sperm oil.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

October, on the nineteenth day,
Quite early in the morn,
Then Boa Vista's barren isle
We plainly did discern.

We hauled our wind, and braced up sharp
And stood in for a while,
Determined to go in that port
And there send home our oil.

The wind increased and hauled ahead
At twelve o'clock that day, –
Hard up the helm and squared away
And steered for the isle of May.

The forenoon on the twentieth day
We in the harbor went.
There was a brig for Portland bound,
And letters there we sent.

Her captain could not take our oil, –
So for St. Jago bore,
At two o'clock arrived there
And sent a boat on shore.

At sunset then the boat returned;
All sail was quickly made,
And to the southward then we steered
With a strong northeast trade.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The twenty-first, both ships hove too,
Lying on the larboard tack,
Our oil we got from out the States,
And empty casks sent back.

November the ninth, that day we passed
The equinoctial line;
And then we took the southeast trades,
With weather clear and fine.

Unto the southward still we steered
And naught did us molest.
We weathered Cape St. Augustine
And then steered south-southwest.

When we got up in twenty-nine
The States got out of sight,
And then we took a furious gale
At twelve o'clock that night,

Clewed up and furled every sail
Soon as it did begin,
Got down the three topgallant yards,
And boats we hoisted in.

Three days it blew excessive hard;
We all that time lay too;
The wind then to the northward hauled,
And our course we did pursue.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then for the Brazil Banks we steered,
And crowded every sail,
And kept a sharp look-out to get
Another large sperm whale.

December eighth green water had,
And then we tried for ground,
We hove aback, let run the lead,
And fifty fathoms found.

Hard up the helm, and squared the yards
And steered for Staten Land.
December on the fifteenth day
We saw the rocky strand.

At three o'clock in the afternoon
Southwest by south it bore.
By calculation, we were then
Fifteen miles from the shore.

December on the nineteenth day,
Just off the weather beam,
A ship a-running down for us
Was plainly to be seen.

She ran across our stern ând hailed.
The States it proved to be,
And then we made more sail to keep
Each other company.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Unto the windward then we steered,
The weather quite severe,
But weathered all in twenty days,
And down the coast did steer.

When we got down in forty-five
A gale blew on the shore.
The States got fairly out of sight
And we saw her no more.

In eighteen hundred twenty-one,
In the month of January,
The four-and-twentieth day, I think,
We saw the isle St. Mary.

Then we wore ship, and stood off-shore,
A shoal of sperm whales saw;
We lowered our boats, got fast to one,
And very soon did draw.

The whales to windward then they went,
We after them did row.
'Twas blowing fresh, the chance was small,
On board the boats did go.

The one-and-twentieth of the month
Another shoal espied.
We lowered, and soon got fast to two,
And took them alongside.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Next morning then we cut them in,
And then began to boil,
And both together only made
A tun and a half of oil.

The second month, quite early on
The three-and-twentieth day,
From our mast-head we did espy
A boat to leeward lay.

Hard up the helm, and down we went
To see who it might be,
The Essex boat we found it was,
Been ninety days at sea.

No victuals were there in the boat,
Of any sort or kind,
And two survivors, who did expect
A watery grave to find.

The rest belonging to the boat
Ah! shocking to relate,
For want of food and nourishment,
Met an unhappy fate.

We rounded to, and hove aback;
A boat was quickly lowered;
We took the two survivors out,
And carried them on board.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

At sunrise on the third of March,
We then did plainly see
A shoal of spermaceti whales
Lie spouting off our lee.

We hard-a-weather and ran down;
Two boats we lowered away,
And two of them we took alongside
At ten o'clock that day.

Then just at night, we saw some more, –
Good luck, I do declare;
We got a forty barrel bull,
And had a noble fare.

Same day, while cutting in our whale,
About the hour of three,
The ship Two Brothers then we spoke,
And kept her company.

We cruised together off and on
Till March the thirteenth day.
Our two survivors went on board;
Next morn they bore away.

To Valparaiso they were bound,
Provisions for to buy,
Cruise one more month, and then they were
Bound home immediately.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

'T was on the nineteenth day of March,
For port, we bore away;
And into Valparaiso went
The three-and-twentieth day.

Nine days we lay at anchor there;
Potatoes we did buy;
Of apples, pears, and Cape Horn nuts
We got a full supply.

The water where we anchored, here
In this extensive bay,
Was five-and-twenty fathoms deep,
The bottom mud and clay.

The harbor here is all exposed
Unto a northern gale,
And in the winter season
They always do prevail.

The southern breeze begins to blow
In the latter part of the day.
And then ships lying in this port
May safe at anchor lay.

When you are bound into this port,
Upon-your starboard hand
You will see a rock just off the point,
But forty rods from land.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The water round is very deep.
Your ship may wafted be
As near the rock that is off the point
Her length from danger free.

The first of April we set sail
And left the Spanish shore,
With a good breeze we stood to sea
To try our luck once more.

April the one-and-twentieth day,
We saw the States once more,
And then together we did mate,
As we had done before.

And on the four-and-twentieth day,
Just at the fall of night,
The Lima, Falcon, and the Charles,
Did plain appear in sight.

By them we got some later news
Than we had heard before,
And all the drifts about the girls
From Newtown to North Shore.

And early on the following day
Our helm we hard-a-weather,
To drop a little lower down,
The States and us, together.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

We steered north, and northwest,
Until the first of May,
Then hauled our wind and cruised off
The mouth of Tonga bay.

And there we cruised a little while
In hopes to get some whales;
Spoke the Meteor, and the Ark,
And several other sails.

The weather rough, and whales scarce,
We stopped a week or two,
And then broke mate-ships with the States
And bore up for Peru.

We cruised the coast of Chili o'er,
And cruised it round about,
And cruised it up, and cruised it down,
And cruised the season out.

And all the time that we were there
Upon the rugged coast,
Ten tuns of oil or thereabouts
Was all that we could boast.

'T was in the latter part of June,
The five-and-twentieth day,
Then three large whales ahead of us
Spouting there did lay.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

We quickly lowered down our boats
And for them pulled away,
And one old sog we took longside
At twelve o'clock that day.

Our latitude observed that day
Was sixteen, twenty-four,
And we were plain in sight of land,
But ten leagues from the shore.

And on the ninth day of July
'T was blowing mackerel gales.
Another shoal we then did raise
Of spermaceti whales.

And on the purlieus of the shoal,
We plainly did espy,
A noble seventy barrel whale
Spouting there did lie.

We lowered the waist and starboard boats,
And having extra luck,
We rowed just right, when she came up,
And soon went on and struck.

At three o'clock we had her dead;
To tow we did begin;
At five we had her safe longside,
Next day we cut her in.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

We cruised three months in sixteen south,
'T was rugged all the while,
And there we got but fifteen tuns
Of spermaceti oil.

And on the eighth of August, we
Up helm and bore away,
Ran down in twelve, and there we spoke
The Ruby, Captain Ray.

When we spoke him, 't was blowing
Strong trades, and heavy gales,
And he told us that he had seen
Unnumbered shoals of whales.

But rugged as the weather was,
'T was best to take a view;
Again we hauled upon the wind
To try and see some too.

Two weeks we cruised, and spoke some ships,
The Lima, Ark, and others,
We found the whales there wild and scarce,
Then mated with the Brothers.

Then we hard up and squared the yards,
For Payta we were bound,
Stood off northwest, and then northeast,
To have a look around.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

When we got down as far as five,
Again we hauled our wind.
We cruised there for several days,
But nothing could we find.

Then into Payta we did go,
And if rightly I remember,
We cast our anchor off the town
The twelfth day of September.

Ten days at anchor in this port
Our good ship then did lie,
As we scraped and blacked the bends,
And some recruits did buy.

But vegetation was so scarce,
And everything so high,
We were obliged to go to sea
Without a full supply.

Here is no dreary reef of rocks,
And hero no shoal of sand
That will obstruct the pilot's course
Along the sea-beat strand.

The sea-breeze here begins to blow
Late in the afternoon,
For here the breezes always are
Influenced by the moon.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

At full and change the breeze is strong
For two or three hours or so;
In other phases of the moon
Then lightly they do blow.

The hills that do surround this place
Are all quite barren ground;
There is not a shrub, or plant, or tree,
For several miles around.

The barren hills are ever dry,
For here no welcome rain
Descends from the ethereal clouds
To greet the parched plain.

The houses here are built of logs,
The boards are split. bamboo,
The roofs are thatched all o'er with straw,
And reeds and rushes too.

The logs are driven in the ground,
Which serves for every stud,
The split bamboo to them is tied,
And plastered round with mud.

The ground it serves them for floor,
Which is composed of clay;
A platform covered with a mat
Serves for a place to lay.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The furniture does there consist
Of a table and a chair;
Tho better sort a sofa have,
But that is very rare.

For knives and forks, they have to use
Fingers at any rate,
And four or five all sitting round
Will eat out of one plate.

Just in the middle of the room
Is hung up by a string
A cot, for ease and pleasure,
Where one may sit and awing.

The one-and-twentieth of the month
'T was fine and pleasant weather;
The Dauphin and the Brothers weighed
And stood to sea together.

When we had been at sea six days,
Cruising off and on,
We saw a noble shoal of whales
Quite early in the morn.

Our waist and larboard boats
Were from their stations lowered;
We chased the shoal till we were tired,
And then returned on board.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

But ere the sun was fairly down
Some more whales hove in sight;
We lowered, and soon got fast to one,
And had him dead by night.

Three days from that we saw some more
To the windward of us lay;
We lowered our boats, got fast to two
At six o'clock that day.

And when we had them all stowed down
And into our ground tier,
We made all sail upon the ship,
For Tumbez we did steer.

October on the seventh day,
'T was Sunday, you must know,
Abreast of Tumbez river, we
Our anchor did let go.

We furled our sails, and moored our ship,
And lay a day or two,
Before we could some water get,
Or anything could do.

At length the bar became more smooth,
For water we did go;
Three hundred barrels we got off,
And stowed it all below.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The river where we water got
Is beautiful and fine;
Five leagues in length this river runs
Crooked and serpentine.

Upon the margin of' this stream
How lovely it did seem!
The sturdy trees their branches bend
And dip the silver stream.

The warbling birds from spray to spray
Do swell their tuneful throats,
And make the lofty woods resound
With their melodious notes.

On either side the waving flags
In wild profusion grow;
Through these some gently murmuring rills
Incessantly do flow.

And here upon the fertile banks,
With ease and plenty crowned,
The farmer with his offspring lives,
And tills the peaceful ground.

His rustic cot, composed of reeds,
Though neither fine nor gay,
Shelters him from the nightly dews,
And scorching sun by day.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

For here no drenching rains descend,
Nor furious gales appear,
But gentle breezes fan the plain
The whole revolving year.

Here cocoanut and orange trees
Do rear their lofty head,
And through the pure delightful air
Their balmy incense spread.

Here plantain and banana trees
Upon the banks are seen;
In stately rows they all do stand,
With grassy walks between.

And here beneath their spreading limbs,
Upon the ground reclined,
The patient ox, when freed from toil,
A grateful respite finds.

Some vegetation here we got,
And also got some fruit,
And with oysters, flags, and wood and poles,
Made up a good recruit.

And having got all things on board,
We weighed and stood to sea,
With a fine breeze from north-northeast,
The Brothers in company.`

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

And now 't was time to leave the coast;
The season had come round,
When we must to the westward steer,
And take the Off-Shore ground.

Accordingly we steered west,
Left the adjacent shore,
Cape Blanco distant thirty leagues,
And east-southeast it bore.

When we got off in the longitude
Of one hundred nine and eight,
Our captains then they thought it best
No longer for to mate.

So we our partnership dissolved,
Each different courses took,
In hopes by that to bring about
Some little better luck.

But dire misfortune's powerful hand
Had marked us for her own,
And not one mite of odds it made
Whether mated or alone.

In eighteen hundred twenty-two,
'T was on the New Year's, day,
A large sperm whale we did espy
To the leeward of us lay.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then all three boats were quickly lowered
And for him rowed away;
We took this noble prize alongside
At five o'clock that day.

That served to cheer our spirits up,
In hopes that through the year
Good luck would still continue on
And better days appear.

We cruised upon the Off-Shore ground
About four months, I ween;
Fine weather all the time we had
As any we had seen.

But the season being far advanced,
And few whales to be found,
Our captain thought it best to go
Upon the Northern ground.

'T was then we mated with the Hope,
From Boston she did hail,
We steered off west and north-northwest
In hopes to find some whales.

A week from that or thereabouts
Our captains did agree,
The barque Eliza, of New York,
To take in company.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

We to the northward bent our way
With northeast trades and clear,
And for the Sandwich Islands then
All three of us did steer.

'T was on the thirteenth day of March,
Quite early in the morn,
The island of Maui ahead
We plainly did discern.

The wind it proving very light
In the latter part of the day,
At sunset we all hove aback,
And there all night did lay.

Our little whaling squadron then
A cloud of sails did spread,
And west-northwest we all did steer,
To clear the northern head.

At daylight, on the fifteenth day,
We all the hard-a-weather,
And round the western point we steered,
All three of us together.

At six o'clock, or thereabouts,
After a tedious tow,
The water sixteen fathoms deep,
Our anchor we let go.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

And now our decks with girls were filled
Of every sort and kind,
And every man picked out a wife,
The best that he could find.

'T was here the girls, including all,
(To speak it rather dryly,)
The sailors' amorous wants supplied,
And think they are honored highly.

The houses here are built of poles
Which are driven into the ground,
Some sticks across the poles are tied, –
And thatched with straw all round.

The houses are built very low,
And then so low the doors,
That when you enter in at them
You must go on all fours.

One room is all they ever have;
The ground with mats is spread,
Which serves them for a place to sit,
And also for a bed.

The soil is very fertile here,
And where the land is low
Square places are cut in the ground
Where beds of taro grow.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The water from the mountains is
Conveyed by various roads;
And in these taro beds it runs,
Which keeps them overflowed.

And here are pleasant walks laid out
Between the beds of tarrer,
Where you must walk in Indian file
Because they are so narrow.

Here sweet potatoes, corn and yams,
In plenteous crops are found;
Here the bread-fruit trees do grace
The cultivated ground.

Here cabbage, and tobacco plants,
Are natured to the soil,
And melons of two different kinds
Reward the farmer's toil.

Here plantains and bananas thrive
And cocoanuts abound,
And squashes, gourds and sugar-cane
Adorn the fruitful ground.

April the fifth, in the afternoon,
A leading breeze it blew :
Then we got under way and bid
The Maui girls adieu.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then for Oahu we shaped our course,
And west-by-south did steer.
The Maui mountains, capped with clouds,
Began to disappear.

Next morn, when Phoebus o'er the deep
Had shed his rays of light,
The island of Oahu ahead
Did plain appear in sight.

At nine o'clock or thereabouts
We were abreast the strand,
But the wind it was a-blowing strong,
And too rugged then to land.

Accordingly we hauled our wind,
Kept lying off and on;
So we manoeuvred all the night,
Until the following morn.

Then we ran in and hove aback,
The starboard boat did lower;
The captain and six other men
Repaired unto the shore.

'T was April, on the thirteenth day,
We left the friendly shore.
The Hope still kept our company,
And westward we did steer,

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

And for the Japan coast we steered,
Expecting there to find
The bosom of the briny deep
With spermacetis lined.

Then we ran down the northeast trades
For two or three weeks or more,
Until our longitude was east
One hundred seventy-four.

Then we hauled up and steered northwest,
And shortly did arrive
North of the equinoctial line
In thirty-four or five.

Now got upon the Japan coast,
We every night hove to,
Our longitude then being east
One hundred sixty-two.

And all the month of May throughout,
Bad weather there we found,
And fogs, and calms, and heavy rains,
Environed As all round.

'T was on the fifteenth day of June,
A heavy gale it blew;
We parted from the Hope
As we were lying to.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The weather now became more smooth
Than it had been before,
And now the ocean all around
A cheering aspect bore.

July and August, then we had
Fine weather all the while,
And those two months we did procure
Full seventy tuns of oil.

The season being far advanced,
'T was drawing near the time
To leave the northern latitude
And try a southern clime.

For the Sandwich Islands then we steered,
Some few recruits to buy,
Likewise some water to obtain,
And get a fresh supply.

October the ninth at eight P. M.,
The isle of Hawaii,
Bearing south-southeast of us,
We plainly then did see.

And when the sun dispelled the mist
That gathered in the night,
Then Morotai and Maui
Did plain appear in sight.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then we hard-up and steered west
Till twelve the following night, –
Left Morotai on the left,
The ocean on the right.

Then we luffed to and lay aback
Until daylight appeared,
And then again we bore away,
And west-by-south we steered.

Same day, while running before the wind,
About the hour of two,
We plain discovered, right ahead,
The island of Oahu.

Then we ran down abreast the bluff
On the weather part of the bay,
And then kept lying off and on
Till sunrise the next day.

Then we ran in with a light breeze,
Got everything to rights,
Let go our anchor in the roads,
And lay two days and nights.

Then a pilot we received on board,
It being now our turn,
And in the basin we did tow,
And moored her head and stern.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The graceful damsels from the shore,
As soon as we were moored,
Came paddling off in their canoes,
While others swam on board.

And each that wanted now picked out
One of the graceful fair,
For here 't is the same as at Maui, –
Virtue is very rare.

Oahu is in west longitude
One hundred fifty-nine,
And latitude of twenty-two
To the northward of the line.

A fine, commodious harbor here
Presents itself to view,
Which is upon the southwest part,
And is equalled by but few.

Our ship we well recruited here
With vegetation kind;
And at this season of the year
A plenty you will find.

December eleventh at daylight, we
Our goodly ship unmoored.
At eight A. M. or thereabouts,
The pilot came on board.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then with a fine and pleasant breeze
We soon got under way,
Stood out to sea beyond the reef,
And then we bore away.

Northwest-by-west we then did steer,
To clear the western head;
Then to the northward hauled our wind,
To pass the northeast trades.

And when we reached the latitude
Of thirty-one or two,
Unto the eastward then again
Our course we did pursue.

And when our longitude was west
One hundred twenty-four,
Unto the southward then we steered,
To cruise awhile off shore.

December the eight-and-twentieth day,
By our latitude we found
We had crossed the equinoctial line,
And gained the Off-Shore ground.

In eighteen hundred twenty-three,
First month, the thirteenth day,
Provisions growing somewhat short,
No longer could we stay.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Unto the southward then we steered,
And left the Off-Shore ground,
And hugged our wind all through the trades,
For Valparaiso bound.

When we got up in the latitude
Of twenty-three or four,
The western winds we then did take,
And steered away in-shore.

The second month, the thirteenth day,
When daylight cheered the sky,
Then Masafuera, right ahead,
We plainly did espy.

Same day about the hour of ten,
If I have not forgot,
We saw a noble large sperm whale
Going thirty or forty knot.

We lowered our boats, took chase to him,
But finding it in vain,
We then gave o'er the fruitless toil
And went on board again.

For Masafuera then we steered,
It being now our wish
To get a new recruit of wood
And catch a mess of fish.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Next day, we having gained the land
Sufficient nigh to lower,
Laid the main-topsail to the mast,
And sent two boats on shore.

The land is high and craggy too;
The shores are iron-bound;
No harbor round the isle is seen;
No anchorage here is found.

The mountains are well stocked with goats,
Which easily are shot,
And wood and water on the beach
In plenty may be got.

The shores all round are lined with fish
Of a superior sort,
And at all times and seasons,
In plenty may be caught.

The thirteenth of the month we left,
And hauled our wind in-shore,
And stood for Valparaiso's port,
As we had done before.

The three-and-twentieth of the month
The land appeared in sight.
We ran off Valparaiso's head,
Lay off and on all night.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

At twelve o'clôck the following day
We in the port did go;
the water thirty fathoms deep,
Our anchor we let go.

Three weeks we lay at anchor here,
And got a good recruit
Of apples, pears and peaches,
And other kinds of fruit.

Potatoés, cabbage, onions, here
We in this port did buy,
And of provisions here we got
A very good supply.

And when we got our stores on board
And stowed them all below,
We quickly then got under way
And out to sea did go.

In eighteen hundred twenty-three,
March the twentieth day,
We hauled our larboard tacks aboard,
For home we put away.

Our mainmast now being somewhat weak,
We thought it best to fix it,
Lest on our passage round the cape
Some accident should dish it.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then all our boats we heisted in,
Our strongest sails did bend,
And all topgallant yards and masts
We down on deck did send;

And having fitted well our ship
To pass Cape Horn again,
Each man then, fore and aft the ship,
Scrimshauning did begin.

Then knitting sheaths and jagging knives
Were cut in every form,
And other trinkets for the girls,
As presents from Cape Horn.

April the eighth, we having run
Our latitude quite out,
Unto the eastward then we steered
And took a pleasant route.

Fine weather and fine western gales
To us did now appear,
And as our longitude decreased,
More northward we did steer.

April the two-and-twentieth day,
The weather clear and fine,
Our latitude, observed at noon,
Was fifty, fifty-nine,

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Our longitude then being west
Just forty-nine and four.
'T was then due north we steered our course
For freedom's happy shore.

When we got down in thirty-two,
'T was on the fifth of May,
Four points upon our weather bow
A large sperm whale did lay.

Our waist and starboard quarter boats
Were manned, and lowered away,
And we obtained the noble prize
At four o'clock that day.

Then we lay by the whale all night
Till daylight broke again,
Then called all hands, and soon began
To cut the blubber in.

And having cut her blubber in,
We then made sail again,
And still pursued our wanton course
Across the western main.

'T was on the twenty-fourth of May,
As we were steering free,
We plainly saw Cape Augustine
Four points upon our lee.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

Then north-by-east we shaped our course
Till we got fairly clear,
And then again we kept away,
And north-northwest did steer.

The twenty-eighth we crossed the line,
And northward still we steered,
And when our latitude was four,
We took the northeast trades.

A favoring breeze attended us,
With weather clear and fine,
And on the ninth of June we reached
The northern tropic line.

The three-and-twentieth day of June,
We hove aback to sound
About the hour of ten at night,
And ninety fathoms found.

Then we ran in with a light breeze,
Stood well in off Montaug,
And there we lay four days and nights
Blockaded in the fog.

While we were lying off and on
And drifting round about,
We spoke a little schooner boat,
And took a pilot out.

WHALING VOYAGE JOURNAL.

The eight-and-twentieth day of June
The foggy vapors cleared;
We bore away before the wind,
And for Nantucket steered.

The flaming orb of day had passed
Two thirds the vaulted sky,
When, lo! upon our starboard bow
Nantucket then did lie.

Same day we anchored at the bar,
Our anxious voyage now o'er;
To see our wives, sweethearts, and friends,
We hastened to the shore.

And now in harbor we've arrived;
All hands are well and stout.
Unbend the sails and take them up,
And next the oil break out.

Our oil is sold, and cash is paid;
We'11 share it with our friends,
And when it's gone, to sea for more.
And so my voyage ends.

illustrations

NOTE.

James E. Arsenault & Company sold a copy of Murphey's Whaling Journal with this comment in the description of the volume: "This issue includes the five plates lacking in some copies."

While the transcriber has not found other copies or editions with these illustrations, the four below are from the James E. Arsenault & Company website.

Ship Dauphin taking a 70 barrel whale 9th day of July, lat. 16 24 N.

Picking up two survivors of ship Essex of Nantucket,
having been 90 days at sea.

Ship Essex, of Nantucket, having been stove by a whale
November, 1820.

Ship Dauphin, Capt. Coffin, arrived at Nantucket Sept. 4th, 1823,
with 1272 bbls. sperm oil. Discharging cargo.

Source.

Charles Murphey.
A Journal of a Whaling Voyage on Board Ship Dauphin, of Nantucket / composed by Charles Murphey, 3d Mate on the voyage.
Mattapoisett, Mass.: Atlantic Publishing Company, 1877.

This transcription use the volume at:
Google Books.

Last updated by Tom Tyler, Denver, CO, USA, Apr 21, 2025

Anthology Illustrations Source Whalesite

Ship Dauphin taking a 70 barrel whale 9th day of July, lat. 16 24 N.

Picking up two survivors of ship Essex of Nantucket, having been 90 days at sea.

Ship Essex, of Nantucket, having been stove by a whale November, 1820.

Ship Dauphin, Capt. Coffin, arrived at Nantucket Sept. 4th, 1823, with 1272 bbls. sperm oil. Discharging cargo.

Anthology Illustrations Source Whalesite

Picking up two survivors of ship Essex of Nantucket,
having been 90 days at sea.

Ship Essex, of Nantucket, having been stove by a whale
November, 1820.

Ship Dauphin, Capt. Coffin, arrived at Nantucket Sept. 4th, 1823,
with 1272 bbls. sperm oil. Discharging cargo.