#captain newman

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[ID: Part of a page from an 1840s whaling journal with neat slanting writing.]

”If I ever arive at home, and can recall to my memory my feelings at the presant moment it will be a great inducement for me to stay there. But what has A Whaleman got to do with feelings. = who said that.. I did.”

Mr. Newman keeping a log aboard the Edward in 1848. On the bottom of nearly every other page so far he writes little bits about how much he misses his wife Abby. He later becomes a captain and takes Abby with him on his voyages.

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[ID: Excerpt from a whaling journal, 1850, with curling slanted handwriting]

“At Anchor Sunday December the 8th. All this day fresh trades with occasional rain squalls, at 8am let principle part of the crew go on shore on Liberty. At 5pm Paul Ripple came on board Drunk & began makeing a Disturbance forward when I went there to Stop the noise, he Paul Ripple, haveing a Sheath Knife in his hand threatened to stab me with it, when I clinched him and, Mr. Barrus the 3rd officer took the knife from him and hove it over board, when I took him aft and by the Capt orders seized him in the mizzen riging and the Capt gave him 8 lashes with a piece of seizeing stuff. At 6pm William Steere threatened to take Mr. Monroe’s life when the Capt seized him up to the Mizzen riging and gave him ten lashes & put a pair of hand cuffs on him and put him down in the run, at 7pm. John Peters, Benjamin Essex, Sylvester Littlefield, & Robert Devol, have not come on board at 9pm all hands on Board.”

—

Literally every time there’s some liberty ashore Mr. Newman is making very matter-of-fact lists of who’s got themselves put in prison on shore this time and who comes back trying to fight everyone. It’s almost inevitable that Paul Ripple is mentioned, repeat brawler, is apparently very belligerent when drunk.

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In which Mr. Newman discusses a whale that got away due to a harpoon breaking:

[ID: Excerpt from an 1850s whaling journal with slanting curling script]

“…but he went off with it at 5:30 Struck one to the Bow Boat and the Iron Broke.. I wish the — Blacksmith had it in his .. .. ..”

Had it in his what, Newman???

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[ID: Three images from the same 1850s whaling journal, with a neat light script. The transcript follows below.]

I love Duff (nicknamed as such cos he likes duff) and the poor pranks he’s the butt of and the fruitless interactions with the captain who just has No Time for it.

“But some of the crew having an eye to the luxuries of life began to invent dishes of their own. One day after dinner, Duff the simple fellow before mentioned, took some hard bread and pounding it up soaked it in water, and and then mixing it with molasses and slush (the fat boiled out of the beef) filled his pan with it and carrying it to the galley, got the cook to bake it for him. The cook having baked it while he was on deck, told him of it, upon which Duff carried it below and deposited it in his chest until supper time and went on deck again, thinking no doubt that he would have a grand supper on lobscouce [lobscouse] as he called it. But the old adage “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” proved as true in this instance as it ever did for Duff on going to his chest found that some one had abstracted his supper, leaving the empty pan. Filled with indignation at his loss, away he goes aft and reports to the captain that some one has been stealing from him. “What did they steal?” asks the Captain. “A lobscouce, sir,” was the reply. “What the devil’s that?” asked the skipper. Whereupon Duff gave him an account of what a lobscouce was composed of. “Don’t you get enough to eat?” asks the Captain. “Yes sir,” says Duff. “Clear out then, and don’t come to me bothering about your lobscouse.” Poor Duff started forward crestfallen enough. But aside from all this his chest had been broken into, which was not exactly fair play, and so as he was going away the captain says to him “You find out who it was that opened your chest and let me know it.” But he never found out.”

———

“Speaking of duff reminds me of another little incident which transpired a little while before. One evening as Duff (not the cook’s duff but our Duff) was lying on the fore hatch enjoying an evening nap, some mischievous chap smeared his hair and face with tar. A short time afterwards, waking up and finding it out, he at first tried to find the author of it and failing in this he posted aft to where the captain and mate was sitting and began to make his complaint to the captain that some one had been tarring him. “What did you let them for?” “I didn’t know it, sir.” “You were asleep, then. They wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been. Keep awake and you won’t get tarred. Clear out and don’t you come to me with any more of your complaints.” He could get no satisfaction either forward or after, and was forced to swallow it down, vowing that if he ever found out who it was he would serve them the same.”

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Have some more Abby writing in her husband’s old 1848-49 logbook (presumably all around 1850 when he’s off on another voyage)

[ID: portion from an 1840s whaling log. Beneath sextant calculations in black ink is a small section written in blue in a different hand. /end ID]

“O dear how lonesome I do feel, how I wish Allen was at home, but if wishes where [were] horses beggers could ride, he never shall go again if I can help it. James A. Newman.”

Don’t know why she wrote her son’s name there (it’s not him writing; he’s a very small child. But she does sort of write everyone’s names throughout.) Allen would indeed go again (much to his own misery), and be a whaler for another decade before serving as master of a number of Union ships in the American Civil War. After 1865 he gives up the sea and settles ashore as a grocer.

[ID: Another portion from Allen’s journal, with Abby’s handwriting. /end ID]

“James Allen Newman is sometimes A very naughty boy indeed, how I wish his Father was at home. Bristol RI. Abby P Newman.”

James was their first child, and would be 3 or 4 years old at this point.

There is also this weird…Horse? drawn in the back of his book which I like to think is James’s handiwork.

[ID: A childlike pencil drawing of a long horse-like creature. On its chest is a striped sheild, and what appears to be a weathervane or arrows jutting out of it. /end ID]

Here’s more of them…I’m obsessed with them.

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It’s fun that Mr.Newman used the same journal from when he was recording a voyage as a first mate to when he’s writing in it as captain of his own ship because you can see the shift in how candid he gets that’s obscured in a more official log.

As first mate of the Bowditch he was dutifully filling it out every day and was largely unsentimental and down to business in how he relayed info, as logkeepers tend to be:

[ID: Excerpt from an 1850s whaling journal]

”Wednesday October the 15th. Commences with a light breeze from the SE with fine weather, the ship by the wind with all sail set leading ENE, the middle and latter part Brisk breezes and fair Weather, at 11am furled the main Royal, the watch Employed variously Employed, lat 32,,41 North, Long 165,,25 West.”

VS when he’s seemingly using it more infrequently as a personal journal when he’s captain of the Covington (and presumably has his first mate keeping the more official log):

[ID: another excerpt from that same journal]

“July the 4th 1776 [*it’s 1853], the first A light breeze from the South with A thick fog at 12am the fog cleared off and saw Whales plenty lowered the Boats and chased them untill 7PM when it came on foggy again. The Whales very Shy. I wish they could celebrate the 4th and all get gloryously Drunk & then I would walk in for about 4 of them [rude!]

July the 5th fresh breezes from the South attended with rain & thick fog. of all of my hard luck this beats all. it is now nearly two Months since we have been near A Whale. I Wish I could see my Dear Abby and Children to night. I don’t think I should leave them again untill my spirits were more Bouyant than they are at preasant.”

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[ID: excerpt from an 1850s whaling journal of seaman Samuel Wood. Transcript follows.]

“To day our Capt deemed it prudent for the Ships company and for there [their] Safety to put one of our Boat Steerers into irons [.] he has been more or less deranged Sence [since] we hav[e] left port it was caused by his having fits in the first place of which he had severl [several] in port & has not got over them [.] nothing more to day.”

[ID: excerpt from the journal of 1st mate Allen Newman, of the same voyage. Transcript follows.]

“Devol recovered & on Duty, Littlefield not so well to day, and A great deal of trouble, at 10 am had to put A pair of hand cuffs on to him[.] he sees all kinds of sights & hears all kinds of noises, Laudanum will have no effect on him, it requires one & two with him all the time [.] he says he won’t go in the Ship, but I’m inclined to think he will for She’s moveing [moving] along A good jog now toward the North Pole.”

I was wondering if they were both going to mention Littlefield. I’m remembering all these instances Newman talked about on this voyage, and I’m curious to see what Samuel has to say about them too.

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Bowditch drama! Seaman Samuel Wood voices his shared frustration of the Captain going ashore when the crew can’t.

[ID: The following 4 images are excerpts from an 1849 whaling journal. Transcript follows.]

This day thear is not much doing aboard. Today lowed some of the Sailes to drie [.] the weather is cloudy with some rain[.] this afternon lowerd one boat and pulled the capt ashoar to Stop for the night but we poor Sailers Stop abourd this is the way Sailors live damn thear eyes & devil take thear soules that my best wish for them great times.

[ID: another excerpt from Samuel’s journal]

Sunday this day lying on bourd doing nothing the same as yeasterday [.] we hav good chance to look ashoar but as for geting ashoar the devil mite as wel break the gates of hell and get into heven as the crew of a dam whaler to get ashoard bad luck to them [.] today was the kings birth day and was saluted with from the Frigate gunn.

Meanwhile, while laments of not being able to go ashore fester, so does a question of the ship’s condition, being repaired while at anchor.

Wednesday this day the Carpenters finished thear work on the Ship or at least they call it done but she is not properly don and the carpenters say that she is not fit for Sea as She is now and the crew know it [.] on today the hands before the mast resolved not to go as She is now and mad[e] a muster aft a told the Capt that if he did not repair the Y[ards] as the Carpenters advised to be don that we would not go to sea when the Capt told us that if we did not return to duty that he would have us all seized in the rigin before night [.] we told him that we would not when the capt ordered the boat to pull him on Shour [.] the boat returned tonight without the the Capt we expect ruf usage on the morow [.] hard and dubious times just now nothing more.

Newman, first mate on this voyage, adds his own perspective to this:

[ID: The following two images are from a different 1849 whaling journal of the same voyage, transcript follows]

Thursday Dec the 6th 1849. Commences with light airs and fine warm Weather, at 1pm the following of the Crew refused duty on account (as they say) of the ship being Rotten, Moses Hunt & Lazarus Peterson, appear to head the gang, Edward Carney, Samuel L. Woods, William Steere, Trueman Brown, Paul Ripple, William Stafford, Pardon Spencer, Edmund Davis, John Peter, Benjamin Essex, Fones Sunderland, James Knowles, Robert Meller, Edward Sanders, The Capt went on Shore to the Counsel and he ordered a Survey, accordingly at 10am the Survey came on Board composed of two respectable Ship Masters and the Carpenter of the Frigate Brandywine, and the following is their report accompanied with a letter from the US Counsel,

Captain Waldron

Two American Ship Masters and the Carpenter of the Frigate Brandywine, haveing at my request examined the Ship Bowditch, Commanded by you, and haveing reported to me that there is nothing to endanger the Safety of the vessel, on account of the Copper being off, as it appears to them, & that the hull and masts and yards, tackle and apparel generally are in good Order for the voyage, you will be justified in requiring your Crew to proceed to Duty forthwith and in enforcing their Obedience, Which I have no doubt they will Cheerfully do upon your Order, if however any should Refuse you will apply (if you think fit) for an Order for their Arrest and imprisonment in Jail until the time of Sailing.

The above letter was read to the crew in the presence of all Hands, but they chose not to comply.