The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126347 Message #2829082
Posted By: John Minear
03-Feb-10 - 02:57 PM
Thread Name: From SF to Sydney - 1853 Shanties Sung?
Subject: RE: From SF to Sydney - 1853 Shanties Sung?
Charley, thanks for these additional references. The one from Shay is almost exactly the same as the one from Berger - Ball to Hall, and Yankee to Boston. Unless someone else comes up with some more material, I'm going to move my attention on to the whalers. There should be a little more to go on there. I realize that there is overlap amongst my categories.
Whaling went on for a long time, and it was certainly happening in the decades leading up to and following the voyages of the "Julia Ann". Captain Pond's First Mate on his third and fourth voyages was Peter Coffin. Pond recruited Coffin when he took the "Julia Ann" to Stillicome at the head of Puget Sound to load timber for Sydney for his Third voyage. At the time, Coffin was the captain of a Revenue Cutter and "an old whaler of fifteen years experience on the Pacific Ocean."
From Olmstead's INCIDENTS OF A WHALING VOYAGE , we've already listed "Drunken Sailor" and "Haul Her Away", which he dates in 1840. Early versions of "Highland Laddie" were definitely sung on board the whalers. We've just noted that some versions of "Blow Boys, Blow" were sung on board the whalers. I'm still looking with regard to the whalers. I know that "Ranzo" is one.