HAZARDS AND COMPENSATIONS 197 



were saved. Thirty-three whalers had to be abandoned to 

 the mercy of the winter storms and crushing ice-fields. But 

 the five members of the fleet which chanced to be in clear 

 water transported the crews of all the deserted vessels to Hon- 

 olulu without the loss of a single life.^ 



But neither the attacks of whales nor the forces of nature 

 were responsible for all the dangers of whaling. Human 

 nature, in the roles of hostile savages and of mutineers, was 

 also a contributing factor. Savage treachery probably reached 

 its climax in the tragedy of the Sharon. On Sunday, No- 

 vember 6, 1842, this vessel lowered all of its boats in pur- 

 suit of whales, leaving only Captain Norris, a white boy, and 

 three Kingsmill Islanders on board. During the day one of 

 the natives stole up from behind and decapitated the captain 

 with a cutting-spade. The boy, however, took refuge in the 

 rigging, where his agility frustrated the attempts of the natives 

 to follow him. When the boats returned their crews were 

 prevented from boarding the ship by the formidable array 

 of whaling weapons which the islanders had collected. But 

 plans to sail away from the boats were defeated by the boy, 

 who slid from mast to mast on the stays and cut the ropes and 

 sails in such a manner that little headway could be made. 

 During the night the third mate swam to the ship, climbed 

 up the rudder, and squirmed through the cabin window. His 

 discovery, while still engaged in loading the captain's firearms, 

 precipitated a terrible hand-to-hand conflict in which one na- 

 tive was killed and the mate and a second islander severely 

 wounded. The third assailant hid in the hold, where he was 

 subsequently found and carried into the port of Sydney in 

 irons. 



The relations between the whalemen and the South Sea 

 Islanders ranged from consistent friendliness to open combat. 

 In some regions the natives maintained an air of light-hearted 

 welcome and respect, often in spite of insults and indignities j 

 but in other localities they were openly or covertly hostile. 

 Thus in 1835, while touching at the Marshall Islands, the 



3 The best accounts of this catastrophe are contained in the Old Dartmouth 

 Historical Sketches, Number 45, p. 43; and in Starbuck, Alexander, "History 

 of the American Whale Fishery," Section F. 



