Mocha Dick: or the White Whale of the Pacific: A Leaf from a Manuscript Journal

by Jeremiah N. Reynolds

Jeremiah N. Reynolds (1799–1858), an American newspaper editor, lecturer, explorer and author who became an influential advocate for scientific expeditions. Reynolds gathered first-hand observations of Mocha Dick, an albino sperm whale off Chile who bedeviled a generation of whalers for thirty years before succumbing to one. Mocha Dick survived many skirmishes (by some accounts at least 100) with whalers before he was eventually killed. In May 1839, The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine published Reynolds’ “Mocha Dick: Or the White Whale of the Pacific,” the inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

In Reynolds' account, Mocha Dick was killed in 1838, after he appeared to come to the aid of a distraught cow whose calf had just been slain by the whalers. His body was 70 feet long and yielded 100 barrels of oil, along with some ambergris. He also had several harpoons in his body.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1839

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Article that depicts the demise of Mocha Dick in 1838 as told by the whaler who vanquished him. Hyperbole, yes, but entertaining to read a tale that influenced Melville's masterpiece. Probably only worth reading if Moby Dick is your jam but you are probably only looking at this article if that box is ticked.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why do I keep reading about whaling, why am I doing this 😅 Story told well though.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Melville's Moby Dick and thoroughly enjoying it, I thought it was only right to follow up with this short read from Reynolds from his exploration. It's clear to see how closely related and how much influence Melville took from this true story of the white whale known as Mocha Dick. It's a worthwhile read if you're interested in reading further and want to see the close resemblance between the fiction and non-fiction.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for personal research - found this book's contents helpful and inspiring.
A good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
- found this book's contents helpful and inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short account of the fury and supposed end of Mocha Dick, a monstrous white whale upon which Herman Melville based Moby Dick. Information on this historic whale is not easy to find and even this account, based on eyewitness reports, is rather simplified and cleaned up.

Considering there was at least one report of Mocha Dick after his alleged death, the tales of a huge white sperm whale evading capture and smashing whaleboats beneath his flukes may have actually been more the result of than one specimen.

[Jordan Treece · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the real white whale upon which Herman Melville based Moby-Dick. this short account depicts the hunt and capture of the real, probably albino, whale that was caught about 13 years before Melville published his novel. This is a true story although definitely exaggerated. There are a ton of things that Melville copied for his novel, including the slightly altered name. Overall this is a fun read, especially if you don't feel like reading all of Moby-Dick.

[Gail Baugniet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adenaline -raising tale

This quick read, an inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick, tells of a harrowing event in a career known as whaling. The descriptions of the chaos involved in killing whales offered a glimpse into this occupation, although many would find it heartless more than breathless.

[Six port · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

Very informative and well written. I have often wondered what happened to Moby (Mocha) Dick.
This unfortunately short account of the hunt for Mocha Dick was exciting and in spite of its length definitely raised my pulse rate!
Very well done!

[Natalie Shtivelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

בתרגום יהונתן דיין לעברית.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

More and more with being on the internet you come across intriguing things such as albino whales. These rare specimens are what fascinates people while drawing their imagination in all its array even to the point where a white whale is almost always universally tied with the infamous Moby Dick. But was there an inspiration behind the story written by Herman Melville?

Sadly since we are talking about the 19th century great records aren't kept in many scientific ventures although stories pass down in bits and pieces to us. We have lost so much so I am happy to see someone chose to print out this from a periodical of the time even though it only teases us with small bare facts of the actual beast while still providing mankind with a tale that cannot be bypassed by other events.

Within these short pages you are introduced to a peculiar looking first mate who tells of his greatest triumph on the seas by killing the infamous devil "fish" Mocha Dick - terror of the Pacific whalers. You hear the art of whaling from the whaler, the adventures, the dangers, the thrill and the excitement of being able to best Nature in all her glory while the author then glorifies that it is whaling that brings the best of traits out in mankind as he ends his recollections of this story being told to him.

Although I haven't read "Moby Dick" I know enough that I can pick up where the influences have been pulled from this account to help make that book. And now I am going to be moving on to that particular novel (kiddie's version) next but armed with the knowledge there was an actual true inspiration who fought for his kind just as much as we fight for our own....

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This article served as Herman Melville's inspiration for Moby Dick. Clearly, the idea of an elusive and dangerous white whale in the South Pacific comes from this story. Also, Moby Dick is an obvious derivative of Mocha Dick. In addition, Melville borrowed the story of a harpoonist leaping into the ocean during a confrontation with Mocha Dick for his character Pip. Although the reasons for this action were different in the two stories, both involved a question of cowardice. A man in the article is dragged into the deep after getting tangled in a line of a harpoon in Mocha Dick, as happens to a main character in Moby Dick. This story concentrates primarily on the confrontation with Mocha Dick, whereas Moby Dick follows its characters from Nantucket, through a long voyage before climaxing with the confrontation(s) with Moby Dick. I would recommend reading Moby Dick before reading this, as the article is more interesting if one can draw parallels between it and Melville's book.

[Dwight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story. It has been a while since I read Moby Dick, but I think there were a few turns of phrase taken almost directly from this. It, at least, isn't hard to see how this played a part in inspiring the novel.