Moments by topic
Sickness and death, desertion, storms, ice, holidays, and more from American whaling logbooks, gathered by topic, each linked to its day.
- Sickness and death: Fever, scurvy, and the sick list, and the deaths, drownings, and burials the keepers wrote down. (345)
- Accidents and wrecks: Boats stove and capsized, men overboard, injuries aboard, and wrecks sighted or run aground. (154)
- Desertion and discipline: Men who ran from their ships and the searches for them, and the floggings and irons aboard. (189)
- Storms and natural events: Hurricanes, lightning, and waterspouts, and earthquakes felt at sea, eclipses, and glowing water. (41)
- Ice: Ice fields, floes, and icebergs, most of them in the Arctic. (268)
- Birds, fish, and other animals: Animals besides whales and porpoises: birds, fish, turtles, sharks, squid, and seals. (202)
- Holidays and letters home: Christmas, New Year, and the Fourth of July far from home, and mail by passing ships and in port. (53)