January 7, 1864
Dear diary,
It is almost my 21st birthday. For an early birthday gift I got a job as a harpooner on the whaleship the Nantucket Sleigh Ride. The voyage starts today.
I said farewell to my family and friends before we sailed out of Dartmouth. My father, mother, sister and brother were feeling sad that I was leaving but proud that I was going on my first journey. My father used to be a whaler but he got too tired and the job got too hard for him. When boarding the ship I knew I was ready for an amazing voyage.
I tried to get to know all the other people on the ship so I could have someone to pass the time with on this three year journey. I met one person named Frederick but I called him Fred. He said to make sure I got enough Vitamin C. When I asked him why, he told me the story of a crewmember on his previous voyage named Harold . Harold had scurvy from not having enough vitamin C and looked like a person who bit a rock.
Being on a whale ship with the smell of the oil and the moving ocean can make you sick. So far we are sailing smoothly and no one is sick.
To be continued, Edward
Dear diary,
It is almost my 21st birthday. For an early birthday gift I got a job as a harpooner on the whaleship the Nantucket Sleigh Ride. The voyage starts today.
I said farewell to my family and friends before we sailed out of Dartmouth. My father, mother, sister and brother were feeling sad that I was leaving but proud that I was going on my first journey. My father used to be a whaler but he got too tired and the job got too hard for him. When boarding the ship I knew I was ready for an amazing voyage.
I tried to get to know all the other people on the ship so I could have someone to pass the time with on this three year journey. I met one person named Frederick but I called him Fred. He said to make sure I got enough Vitamin C. When I asked him why, he told me the story of a crewmember on his previous voyage named Harold . Harold had scurvy from not having enough vitamin C and looked like a person who bit a rock.
Being on a whale ship with the smell of the oil and the moving ocean can make you sick. So far we are sailing smoothly and no one is sick.
To be continued, Edward