Amos Smalley facts for kids

Amos Peters Smalley (1877 – 1961) was a Native American whaler, fisherman, and fish peddler. He was a member of the Wampanoag Tribe. Smalley became famous for harpooning a huge white whale in 1902. This event reminded many people of the famous book Moby-Dick.

Life as a Whaler and Fisherman

Amos Smalley was part of the Wampanoag Tribe. When he was fifteen, he started working on a whaling ship. This was common for Wampanoag people from Martha's Vineyard. They were known as excellent sailors and were often sought after for whaling crews.

Amos worked as a whaler when he was young. After his whaling days, he became a fisherman. He also worked as a fish peddler until he passed away at 84 years old.

The White Whale Story

Sailing on the Platina

In 1902, Amos Smalley sailed on a ship called the Platina. It was a bark from New Bedford, Massachusetts. While they were sailing near the Azores islands, a young boy on the ship spotted something amazing. He saw a huge white whale, which he estimated to be 90 feet long.

Harpooning the Whale

Amos and a small crew quickly got into a whaleboat. They tracked down the giant white sperm whale. Amos used a special darting gun to strike the whale. He then used a bomb lance to kill it. The people on board said the old whale was very large. It produced a lot of high-quality whale oil.

Amos described the whale as "90 feet long, 3 times the length of the boat, and he was unnatural."

Amos Smalley and Moby-Dick

Amos Smalley's encounter with a white whale happened many years after Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick in 1851. However, there were interesting similarities between Smalley and a character in the book named Tashtego. Tashtego was an Indian from Gay Head, which is now Aquinnah, Massachusetts. This is where Amos Smalley was born.

Melville described Tashtego as a skilled harpooner from Gay Head. This area was known for providing brave whalers to ships from Nantucket.

Sharing the Story

Later in his life, many people became interested in Amos Smalley's story. In 1956, the magazine Reader's Digest published an article about him. It was written by Max Eastman and titled 'I Killed "Moby Dick"'.

A newspaper article from 1957 reported on the Reader's Digest story. It said that Amos Smalley received money for sharing his adventure. The newspaper described how Amos struck the whale with his harpoon. He heard the bomb explode deep inside the whale. The whale then pulled the boat very hard.

Amos recalled, "his whole head broke water... and the air was filled with heavy roar, as thick red blood gushed from his spout-hole." The mate on the boat told Amos he had done well. He said Amos had put the harpoon right over the whale's heart.

Wampanoag Traditions

Helen Manning, a Wampanoag historian, wrote about her uncle Amos in her book Moshup's Footsteps. She shared that Amos remembered old stories when he saw the white whale. He thought of Mittark, a great leader of Aquinnah. Mittark had warned of strangers coming and said a white whale would rise from Witch Pond as a sign.

Amos also spoke of Moshup, a giant figure in Wampanoag stories. Moshup supposedly dug a secret tunnel from the cliffs to Witch Pond. This was so his pet white whale could be safe. Today, when fog appears over Witch Pond, Wampanoag people sometimes say it is the White Whale spouting her plume.