In 1873, 21-year-old Sam Williams embarked on a whaling journey on the two-masted F.H. Moore--he steered one of the boats and threw the harpoon. He kept a personal log and reworked it into this never-before-published manuscript, now supplemented by additional research and relevant excerpts of the ship's official logbook.Complementing this are excerpts from three other accounts of whaling voyages: Incidents of a Whaling Voyage by Francis Allyn Olmstead (1841); Etchings of a Whaling Cruise by J. Ross Browne (1846), an expose of the whaling industry; and The Gam: Being a Group of Whaling Stories by Capt. Charles Henry Robbins (1899), a personal story of nearly an entire life at sea. The four accounts open the 19th century world of whaling to modern readers in a realistic and unromantic way.

Table of ContentsPrefacePart I: "The Voyage of the F.H. Moore" by Samuel Grant WilliamsOne. Meet Fluker and the Crew ¿5Two. Our First Day at Sea: Goodbye to Boston ¿9Three. On the Way to San Domingo ¿13Four. Story of Captain Peakes ¿17Five. Gonives Bay and Our First Whale ¿22Six. Off for More Whales ¿27Seven. Off This Coast of Honduras ¿31Eight. Blackfish and More Fruit ¿33Nine. Cruising in the Tracks of Columbus ¿36Ten. Cruising Among the Islands ¿38Eleven. Southwest Key and One Comfortable Home ¿40Twelve. New Year's, 1874 ¿41Thirteen. Sam the Boatsteerer's Story ¿45Fourteen. [Untitled] ¿48Fifteen. The Captain's Wife ¿58Sixteen. [Untitled] ¿62Conclusion ¿69Part II: An Unfinished Book by Samuel Grant WilliamsOne ¿73Two ¿75Three ¿77Four ¿79[An Incomplete Chapter] ¿81Canary Islands ¿86Part III: Excerpt from Incidents of a Whaling Voyage by Francis Allyn OlmstedPart IV: Excerpts from Etchings of a Whaling Cruise by J. Ross BrownePart V: Excerpts from The Gam by Capt. Charles H. RobbinsMaking a Master ¿164That Great Leviathan ¿167Beach Combers ¿177Right Whales ¿180Whale-Land and Its Customs ¿182The Frozen North ¿186Whales Has Feelins ¿189The Captain ¿197Index