The following thrilling account of the destruction of the whale ship Ann
Alexander, Captain John S. Deblois, of New Bedford, by a large sperm
whale, is from the lips of the captain himself. A similar circumstance
has never been known to occur but once in the whole history of
whale-fishing, and that was the destruction of the ship Essex, some
twenty or twenty-five years ago, and which many of our readers fully
remember. We proceed to the narrative as furnished by Captain Deblois,
and which is fully authenticated by nine of the crew, in a protest under
the seal of the United States Consul, Alexander Ruden, Jr., at Paita.
The ship Ann Alexander, Captain J.S. Deblois, sailed from New Bedford,
Mass., June 1st, 1850, for a cruise in the South Pacific for sperm
whale. Having taken about five hundred barrels of oil in the Atlantic,
the ship proceeded on her voyage to the Pacific. Nothing of unusual
interest occurred until when passing Cape Horn, one of the men, named
Jackson Walker, of Newport, N.H., was lost overboard in a storm.
Reaching the Pacific, she came up the coast and stopped at Valdivia, on
the coast of Chili, for fresh provisions, and the 31st of May last, she
called at Paita for the purpose of shipping a man. The vessel proceeded
on her return voyage to the South Pacific.
On the 20th of August last she reached what is well known to all
whalers, as the "Off-shore ground," in latitude five degrees fifty
minutes south, longitude one hundred and twenty degrees west. In the
morning of that day, at about nine o'clock, whales were discovered in
the neighborhood, and about noon, the same day, they succeeded in making
fast to one. Two boats had gone after the whales--the larboard and the
starboard, the former commanded by the first mate, the latter by
Captain Deblois. The whale which they had struck, was harpooned by the
larboard boat. After running some time, the whale turned upon the boat,
and rushing at it with tremendous violence lifted open its enormous
jaws, and taking the boat in, actually crushed it into fragments as
small as a common chair! Captain Deblois immediately struck for the
scene of the disaster with the starboard boat, and succeeded, against
all expectation, in rescuing the whole of the crew of the boat--nine
in number!
There were now eighteen men in the starboard boat, consisting of the
captain, the first mate, and the crews of both boats. The frightful
disaster had been witnessed from the ship, and the waste boat was called
into readiness, and sent to their relief. The distance from the ship was
about six miles. As soon as the waste boat arrived, the crews were
divided, and it was determined to pursue the same whale, and make
another attack upon him. Accordingly they separated, and proceeded at
some distance from each other, as is usual on such occasions, after the
whale. In a short time, they came up to him, and prepared to give him
battle. The waste boat, commanded by the first mate, was in advance. As
soon as the whale perceived the demonstration being made upon him, he
turned his course, suddenly, and making a tremendous dash at this boat,
seized it with his wide-spread jaws, and crushed it to atoms, allowing
the men barely time to escape his vengeance, by throwing themselves into
the ocean.
Captain Deblois, again seeing the perilous condition of his men, at the
risk of meeting the same fate, directed his boat to hasten to their
rescue, and in a short time succeeded in saving them all from a death
little less horrible than that from which they had twice as narrowly
escaped. He then ordered the boat to put for the ship as speedily as
possible; and no sooner had the order been given, than they discovered
the monster of the deep making toward them with his jaws widely
extended. Fortunately, the monster came up and passed them at a short
distance. The boat then made her way to the ship and they all got on
board in safety.
After reaching the ship a boat was dispatched for the oars of the
demolished boats, and it was determined to pursue the whale with the
ship. As soon as the boat returned with the oars, sail was set, and the
ship proceeded after the whale. In a short time she overtook him, and a
lance was thrown into his head. The ship passed on by him, and
immediately after they discovered that the whale was making for the
ship. As he came up near her, they hauled on the wind, and suffered the
monster to pass her. After he had fairly passed, they kept off to
overtake and attack him again. When the ship had reached within about
fifty rods of him, they discovered that the whale had settled down deep
below the surface of the water, and, as it was near sundown, they
concluded to give up the pursuit.
Captain Deblois was at this time standing in the night-heads on the
larboard bow, with lance in hand, ready to strike the monster a deadly
blow should he appear, the ship moving about five knots, when working on
the side of the ship, he discovered the whale rushing toward her at the
rate of fifteen knots! In an instant, the monster struck the ship with
tremendous violence, shaking her from stem to stern! She quivered under
the violence of the shock, as if she had struck upon a rock! Captain
Deblois immediately descended into the forecastle, and there, to his
horror, discovered that the monster had struck the ship two feet from
the keel, abreast the foremast, knocking a great hole entirely through
her bottom. Springing to the deck, he ordered the mate to cut away the
anchors and get the cables overboard, to keep the ship from sinking, as
she had a large quantity of pig iron on board. In doing this, the mate
succeeded in getting only one anchor and one cable clear, the other
having been fastened around the foremast. The ship was then sinking
rapidly. The captain went to the cabin, where he found three feet of
water; he, however, succeeded in procuring a chronometer, sextant,
and chart.
Reaching the decks, he ordered the boats to be cleared away, and get
water and provisions, as the ship was keeling over. He again descended
to the cabin, but the water was rushing in so rapidly that he could
procure nothing. He then came upon deck, ordered all hands into the
boats, and was the last to leave the ship, which he did by throwing
himself into the sea, and swimming to the nearest boat! The ship was on
her beam end, top-gallant yards under the water. They then pushed off
some distance from the ship, expecting her to sink in a very short time.
Upon an examination of the stores they had been able to save, he
discovered that they had only twelve quarts of water, and not a mouthful
of provisions of any kind! The boats contained eleven men each; were
leaky, and night coming on, they were obliged to bail them all night to
keep them from sinking!
Next day, at daylight, they returned to the ship, no one daring to
venture on board but the captain, their intention being to cut away the
masts, and fearful that the moment the masts were cut away that the ship
would go down. With a single hatchet, the captain went on board, cut
away the mast, when the ship righted. The boats then came up, and the
men, by the sole aid of spades, cut away the chain cable from around the
foremast, which got the ship nearly on her keel. The men then tied ropes
around their bodies, got into the sea and cut a hole through the decks
to get out provisions. They could procure nothing but about five gallons
of vinegar and twenty pounds of wet bread. The ship threatened to sink,
and they deemed it prudent to remain by her no longer, so they set sail
in their boats and left her.
On the 22d of August, at about five o'clock P.M., they had the
indescribable joy of seeing a ship in the distance. They made signal and
were soon answered, and in a short time they were reached by the ship
Nantucket, of Nantucket, Mass., Captain Gibbs, who took them all on
board, clothed and fed them, and extended to them in every way the
greatest possible hospitality.
On the succeeding day Captain Gibbs went to the wreck of the ill-fated
Ann Alexander, for the purpose of trying to procure something; but, as
the sea was rough, and the attempt considered dangerous, he abandoned
the project. The Nantucket then set sail for Paita, where she arrived on
the 15th of September, and where she landed Captain Deblois and his men.
Captain Deblois was kindly received and hospitably entertained at
Paita by Captain Bathurst, an English gentleman residing there, and
subsequently took passage on board the schooner Providence, Captain
Starbuck, for Panama.
[Illustration: BURNING OF THE KENT--EAST INDIAMAN]