Voyages of the Quiddity

Maiden Voyage
1834–1836
Captain: Seth Warnock
Chief Mate: Jeremiah Joab (8^th whaling voyage)
Second Mate: Ichabod Allen
Third Mate: William Pynchon (6^th whaling voyage)
Selected Crew: Nathaniel Coffin Warnock (Seth Warnock’s boatsteerer), Elijah Watts (Joab’s boatsteerer), Andrew Wasmuth (Allen’s first boatsteerer), Quentin Shaw (Allen’s second boatsteerer), Zachary Clay (Pynchon’s boatsteerer), Stanley Ruch (carpenter)

Newly outfitted from a Boston merchantman at the Tuttle shipyard, the Quiddity was meant to be captained by Ezra Coffin, but he was “lost at sea” before the destruction of the Janus. By unanimous accord of Sleet, Baker & Blood, the Quiddity was given to the two surviving officers of the Janus shipwreck, Seth Warnock and Jeremiah Joab. Its first voyage was a success, making its rounds of the Atlantic and Pacific with few incidents. The normal amount of desertions took place, but they “picked up a few stranded sailors” in Maui to replace their losses, including “a very colourful harpooneer, Mr. Q. Shaw.” However, on the way home, boatsteerer Andrew Wasmuth “commended his soul to the deep” after a night of “rum & debauchery with a young greenhorn, who was thence flogged in the rigging.” Elijah Watts features in the logs as well, proving a very capable harpooneer, “despite his youth.”

Second Voyage
1836–1840
Captain: (1) Seth Warnock, (2) Jeremiah Joab
Chief Mate: (1) Jeremiah Joab (9^th whaling voyage), (2) Nathaniel Coffin Warnock
Second Mate: (1) Jacob Macy, (2) Nathaniel Coffin Warnock, (3) Unfilled
Third Mate: (1) Nathaniel Coffin Warnock, (2) Elijah Watts
Selected Crew: Elijah Watts (Seth Warnock’s boatsteerer), Timmy Hutchings (Joab’s first boatsteerer), Bembo Burn (Joab’s second boatsteerer), Quentin Shaw (Nate Warnock’s boatsteerer), Zachary Clay (Macy’s boatsteerer), Natty Weeks (cook), Stanley Ruch (carpenter), Peter Veidt

The Quiddity sailed directly for the Pacific Grounds, losing a topman during a violent storm rounding Cape Horn. Then, over the course of hunting in the Pacific, several terrible accidents occurred. First, in 1837, a whaleboat was towed out of sight after becoming entangled with a sperm whale. Though chief mate Joab was washed over and rescued, four crewmen never returned: Timmy Hutchings, John Fetter, Christopher Gross, and Yeoman Scott. Then, in 1839, a fire ravaged the deck during the trying-out of a whale, and two sailors were lost to the conflagration. Second mate Jacob Macy was badly burned, and Nathaniel Coffin Warnock took over his duties, with Elijah Watts promoted to third mate. Repairs were made in South Australia, where the Quiddity acquired “a fierce Mowree harpooneer” named Bembo Burn. Finally, during a terrible squall in the middle of the Offshore Grounds, Captain Seth Warnock was struck and killed by lightning. Joab took over the ship, Captain Warnock’s son was appointed as mate, and the Quiddity returned without further incident—and still laden with oil, despite the reduced complement. Having disembarked at Maui, Jacob Macy returned to Kingsport and began working at Sleet, Baker & Blood.

Third Voyage
1841–1844
Captain: Jeremiah Joab (10^th whaling voyage)
Chief Mate: Nathaniel Coffin Warnock
Second Mate: Elijah Watts
Third Mate: P.H. Whipple
Selected Crew: Bembo Burn (Joab’s Boatsteerer), Quentin Shaw (Warnock’s Boatsteerer), Ulysses Everett Dixon (Watts’ Boatsteerer), Zachary Clay (Whipple’s first Boatsteerer), Mattashunama (Whipple’s second Boatsteerer), Thomas Plunkett (steward), Natty Weeks (cook), Leland Chappell Morgan (blacksmith), Stanley Ruch (carpenter), Owen Morrison Love, Ricardo Reis, Peter Veidt, Suresh Joshi, Ousamequin, George Washington Baker, Enoch “Nucky” Fisher

The logbook of the Quiddity’s third voyage is something of a mess, with entries written by Joab, Warnock, Watts, and harpooneer Zachary Clay. It all begins well enough. The Quiddity spent more time than customary in the Atlantic Grounds, capturing an unusually large amount of sperm whales. After rounding the Cape with no incident, her luck held out, and she made a profitable accounting near Chile and the Offshore Grounds. After spending some time in Maui, shipping back her barrels on the Dragonspark, she continued her run of good fortune in the Pacific between the Sandwich Islands and the Society Islands, stopping for while on “an uncharted island.” Then, in early 1844, their holds nearly filled, they headed for home—only to encounter “an unusually large sperm whale of white coloration, no doubt the Janus-curs’d Mocha-Dick.” After chasing this whale for two days, they closed for battle. The results were ruinous: a pair of whaleboats were destroyed, chief mate Warnock was flung into “a stupor of catalepsy,” and Joab’s leg was severed below the knee. Third mate P.H. Whipple was lost at sea with his whaleboat and crew, with only boatsteerer Zachary Clay remaining to be picked up by the Quiddity, now under the command of acting captain Elijah Watts. Quentin Shaw and Zachary Clay were appointed temporary mates.

Roaming the grounds for two weeks, the Quiddity searched for her children, finally turning away for the Cape. They were unexpectedly becalmed for a full week, until the wind picked up and filled their sails. On the twenty-ninth day after the disaster, they miraculously discovered Whipple’s boat, its crew reduced to a “famish’d, thirst-wracked” Whipple and a single seaman, the “Lascar Joshi.” Ousamequin, George Washington Baker, and Nucky Fisher were reported “lost & drown.” According to Whipple, they survived by rationing the water in the boat’s keg and eating flying fish, hardtack, and a shark harpooned by Joshi.

After stopping in Valparaíso for repairs and extra men, the Quiddity headed back to Kingsport. While rounding the Cape during a terrible storm, acting captain Elijah Watts “succumbed to the pressures of command & embraced lunacy.” He apparently tied himself to the helm and accused his fellow officers of “dark deeds” as the Quiddity flailed in the tempest. Miraculously “springing to life from his invalidity,” Joab regained control of the ship before it capsized. A week later, Warnock emerged from his “stupor” to assume his old duties. The ship returned on August 15, 1844. Captain Joab was hailed a hero, Mr. Watts was taken to Mercy Hospital, and Mr. Warnock was promoted to command of the Aldebaran. Zachary Clay “embraced the bosom of Christianity,” departing the whale fishery to become a missionary in the Sandwich Islands.

White Leviathan > Chapter 1—Kingsport 1844 Handouts
[Back to Voyages of Pynchon | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to History of Kingsport Whaling]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 3 October 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]