On Men Of The Pacific
p. 125 · Read in the full issue
KEEN student of things Pacific, Mr. A. J. Sheat of Auckland, NZ, tells us of a book he has covered in the Auckland Public rary. b was published last year in Lon i by Robert Hale Ltd. and is led “Whale Hunt: A Narrative a Voyage-—By Nelson Cole Har , harpooner in the ship Charles Morgan.”
Ir. Sheat writes: —“Nelson Cole wey cruised between New Zea i and the Equator in the years )-53. He was only 17 when he pooned his first whale off the st of NZ‘. His New Bedford iling ship was away from port four years—and that was his md voyage, as he had run away sea at the age of 12. He made more voyages and finally settled the Hawaiian Islands in 1864 sre he became a pioneer of the ar business. He died in Alaska 1900.
Anyone who understands sea iship or enjoys tales of the era vooden ships and iron men will i and re-read his tales of near iwreck in the Tonga Group; of air-breadth escape from drifting are when becalmed near a can il island in the Gilberts; of time it ashore among friendly lie of Rotuma; of efforts to get h provisions in the Fiji Group a time when boat crews were ly to figure on the Fiji menu. n or his four years of voyage and ing his life in numerous en iters with whales and other ards, young ‘Nelt’ Harvey re ed $2OO when the ship reached r Bedford. rhe ship Charles W. Morgan is in existence 50 years after all crew have passed on. She was up in 1921 after 80 years of ve service and was berthed near ’ Bedford. n 1941, she was taken to the old ling port of Mystic, Connect! by the Marine Historical Asso on. There she lies in the river le the Marine Museum. The or to Mystic can see there the inal manuscript of ‘Whale it’ written in longhand by Nel- Cole Harvey some years after voyage in the Charles W. gan.
Japtain Harvey’s heirs presented original manuscript to the eum in 1944. It is remarkable it should remain intact all e years to be published 50 s after his death.
'erhaps some of the old ships of Pacific might have been kept marine museum at ports in the ;h Pacific. The whalers nlayed r part in the Pacific Islands, to ater followed by traders, mis aries and flag-hoisters of all ons. They had courage, even iey had their faults.”