"I am the bloody man, I have the bloody hand"--S. Comstock

books:


	• Mutiny on the Globe: The Fatal Voyage of Samuel Comstock Thomas Farel Heffernan, 2002 - 280 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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Savagery on the High Seas

I found this story interesting and the author's rendition engaging. Unlike other reviewers, I was interested in Heffernan's exploration of Comstock's physical and mental development for what light it sheds on his subsequent fantasy and savagery. This earth has seen psychopaths before today's headlines and we may yet learn how they emerge by examining those current and historical in as much detail as possible.

Availability of original and valid source material could not have been substantial and so I appreciated Heffernan's effort at accuracy. It is true that Comstock disappears from the story early but I would have been disappointed if Heffernan had not followed the mutiny survivors' stories to the end of their lives. To follow them was to complete the tale. Obviously their lives had to be defined forever after by what they experienced at Comstock's hand on the high sea.

If you like this story and the whaling period, then I recommend In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.

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"I am the bloody man, I have the bloody hand"--S. Comstock

Mutiny on the Globe by Thomas Farel Heffernan is a story written for the causual history reader about a disgruntled and insane whaleman Samuel Comstock who, in 1822, sought to live out his horrible fantasy. Comstock's dream was to take over a ship by killing the captain and his mates, sailing to an island, enslaving the natives who-as his personal military force-would kill the remaining crew and worship Comstock as their maniacal king. On the whaling ship Globe, Comstock achieved the first two ends; however, his ultimate plans were vanquished. Heffernan's work is based almost entirely on primary sources. Comstock's early life is described through the work of brother William Comstock (referring to the mutineer as both the "terrible whaleman" and "our hero"). The mutiny is seen, in large part, through the eyes of Samuel's other brother George, a fellow member of the Globe crew. The description of the island invaded by the Globe (on the Mili Atoll) is found in The Narratives of surviving crew members William Lay and Cyrus Hussey. The rescue of the crew members is based primarily on the memoirs of Captain Hiram Paulding.

I found the story to be a little disappointing. The main character is no longer a factor before the halfway point of the book. Samuel Comstock is such a fascinating character: psychopathic on one level but then revealing strong religious sensibilities when he conducted burial services for those he killed and spared the life of Gilbert Smith, who he suspected of being a threat to his ends, allegedly because he respected Smith's moral standing. Then, alas, Comstock is gone and the story shifts to Lay and Hussey trying to survive on the islands.

The author is limited to what sources are available. A lot of questions are not answered; most likely through no fault of the author. Why did the natives, who regarded the white intruders as "visitors from outerspace" spare the lives of Lay and Hussey? What was the reaction of Samuel's parents to news of the mutiny and their son's role in it? Did not brothers George and William note their reaction in their writings?

For the most part, the book is fast-moving (the body of the text is only 215 pages) and written in an engaging and sometimes exciting style. The final 40 pages or so after Paulding and the rescue ship Dolphin accomplished its mission is a bit tedious as the new arrivals struggled to tolerate the natives. The Afterward seemed a bit unfocused with a preoccupation with Captain Percival's attempts to have the prostitution ban lifted on the ship as they stayed in the missionary Hiram Bingham-dominated Hawaiian islands. Heffernan also breezes through a question on whether Hussey or Lay fathered children while on the islands (the author thinks not). Heffernan continues with the fates of those involved but more post-island information, if available, would be welcomed. What was the public reaction to the mutiny? Were there any letters to the editor in the newspapers on the subject? The ending seemed flowery and hard to follow: "On one ship the curtain comes down on deeds of blood and a mind sailing by itself-things of wonder" (p. 215). There are many appendices including George Comstock's account of the mutiny that is published in full for the first time. A list of Globe crew members, including their heights, is very interesting. These appendices alone make the book worthwhile to anyone interested in the subject. The book also includes a section of photos (mainly sketches and title pages of primary sources). Photos of the islands as they exist today (is Surgeon Benjamin Wells' grave plaque still there?) would be welcomed. Mutiny on the Globe, while not perfect, is a compelling book that will probably encourage many readers to seek other books on Samuel Comstock.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

With horrors and heroes, murder and mayhem, Mutiny on the Globe brings to life an amazing chapter in seafaring history. In 1824, two years into a whaling expedition out of Nantucket, Samuel Comstock organized a vicious mutiny, butchering the officers of the Globe in cold blood. His plan: to set sail for an uncharted island and declare himself king. But his nightmarish fantasy was short-lived: upon landing, Comstock was murdered by his fellow mutineers, while six innocent seamen seized the Globe and escaped. Researcher and whaling historian Thomas Farel Heffernan does an expert job, shedding light on this shocking, action-packed episode of maritime history-and on one of the most bizarre and frightening megalomaniacs that ever went to sea.

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