Post #626581 by komohana on Sun, Feb 26, 2012 6:15 PM

Aloha Tom, fascinating material as always.

Yes, the tale of the Essex - probably the quintessential account of its type - was indeed the
inspiration for the novel Moby Dick, which was largely ignored at the time of its writing,
only to be "rediscovered" long after Melvilles' death.

Anyhow, to my mind, one of the most interesting aspects of the story regarding the Essex
is that because of their dread at falling into the hands of south sea cannibals, the crew
opted to make for South America...and consequently were forced into cannibalism themselves.

If only they had struck for Tahiti, they might have whiled-away their time in paradise.

[ Edited by: komohana 2012-02-26 23:09 ]