Investigating the Historical Background of Mocha Dick's Legend

It is widely acknowledged that Herman Melville's Moby-Dick has been inspired by a variety of sources. One of these is the legend of Mocha Dick, about which Jeremiah N. Reynolds published the earliest known account in 1839. In his narration, Reynolds describes an evening he spent on board an unspecified whaling ship off Mocha Island, Chile, during which the whaler's first mate claimed to have killed Mocha Dick on a previous whaling voyage. This essay aims to substantiate the setting of Reynolds's account, in an attempt to identify the alleged murderer of Mocha Dick and eventually to investigate his previous voyages to seek any evidence of a large and / or white whale killed near Mocha Island. Overall, Reynolds's text was found to be consistent with the sources consulted: primarily, the logbook of the schooner Penguin. Reynolds's narration was identified as having taken place on April 3 or 4, 1830, on board the whaling ship Cincinnatus, which was built in New York in 1818. The identity of the whaling ship's first mate, however, could not be established due to a lack of supporting documentation, which in turn prevents further investigation into the origins of Mocha Dick's legend.

Automated summary

This essay examines Jeremiah N. Reynolds's account of Mocha Dick and attempts to identify the alleged murderer of the whale, as well as investigate previous voyages near Mocha Island for evidence. The essay finds Reynolds's text consistent with other sources, particularly the logbook of the schooner Penguin, but the identity of the first mate remains unknown, hindering further investigation into the origins of the Mocha Dick legend.