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Sale 24
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Lot 511
Whaling Correspondence From The Ship Delphos. A collection of 14 folded letters, written between 1841-50. Thirteen letters are written by or to Benjamin Cutter, the 16-year-old son of a Woburn, Mass. doctor, who sailed on what would be the sixth and final voyage of the Delphos, a vessel of 338 tons, owner Thomas Bradley, Captain West in command. Six whaling letters give a detailed story of the complete voyage of the Delphos until she was shipwrecked on Palmerston Island in the Pacific in 1846. These letters are headed, and postmarked, : Western Islands (Boston SHIP 7); off New Holland (New Bedford SHIP 7); On Board Ship Delphos (80 miles from Maui) (New York SHIP 7 Cts.); At Sea (enroute to Hawaii) (Boston SHIP 7); Ship Alert (bound for New Zealand) (New London, Conn., SHIP 7); and Auckland, New Zealand (New Bedford SHIP 7). There are four family letters from Ben's parents, "to be left for him at Lahaina, Maui, Sandwich Islands" or at Honolulu. The other four letters are: from Ben, then a student at Amherst, to his brother Ephraim; from Joseph Marshall to Dr. Cutter, inquiring about a sailor; from Dr. Cutter to Ephraim at Yale; and a final letter from Ben to his parents in 1850 about the California Gold Rush and his plans to go to Oregon. Ben's life would be cut short; in 1852, at the age of 23, he died of typhoid fever in Pennsylvania.
The letters are housed in a looseleaf notebook; each letter has been transcribed and there is a synopsis of the 14 letters. There is also information on the ship Delphos, from History of the American Whale Fishery, by Alexander Starbuck. From this, we know that the first five voyages of the Delphos brought in a total of 1,530 barrels of sperm oil, 9,370 barrels of whale oil, and 38, 600 pounds of whale bone; the cargo from the sixth voyage was lost in the shipwreck.
Following are a few excerpts from Ben's letters: (9/12/1845) "I never worked so hard in my life…raised a school of about half dozen of sperm whales…next day we commenced to hoist the blubber in…then commenced to get the oil out of his head…I have wished sometimes that you could see me down in the blubber room, cutting up…the dirtiest & greasiest place …up to knees in the blubber …I had to…lay down in the grease so as to get the pieces out…. On Jan. 16, 1846, Ben gives a lengthy description of his initiation for crossing the equator, an ancient maritime tradition, including being tied and blindfolded, interrogated by "King Neptune," given a beard and whiskers made of Indian meal and salt water, dunked in the deck tub, etc.; then, "came within 25 miles of the Tristan d'Acanhee Island…killing…seven right whales & losing two…The crew…I do not like …they are almost all the time trying to kick up a row with some of us…but as for the Capt…one of the best…." (4/16/'46) " …we set sail for Otahuite (Tahiti)…a paradise on earth. I should be content to stay all my lifetime if it was not for the Franchman…we made sail for Maui, having on board from 12 to 15,000 oranges…I was coming down the fore rigging from mast head when I stepped upon an iron (that is, a harpoon)…& cut in about half way through my foot…so far we have the very best luck in whaling, having taken 417 right whale, 294 sperm & 12 black fish…." On Sept. 7, Ben tells his parents the ship is lucky for being out such a short time and no one hurt or loss, then on Nov. 23, he provides a detailed account of their ship wreck, the Delphos breaking up on a reef, being a castaway on Palmerston Island for 11 days, then being picked up by the ship Alert, which was taking them to New Zealand. "…I jumped out of my bunk…when the ship struck…I started on deck in my shirt tails, & what a sight…the breakers on one side, running mountains high…the reef on the other side…& together with the rolling of the ship & shoutings of the men, was a scene I do not wish to see again. In about 10 minutes the ship fell on her beam ends & parted, the ship's company clinging to her side with starvation staring us in our face, no land (as yet) in sight, expecting every minute to be dashed upon the rocks by the waves….we were all saved except two…." A remarkable, well-written whaling correspondence, full of thrills and drama.
Estimated Value $3,500 - 5,000.
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