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Timeline of the Dolphin Striker I am afraid there’s something not quite right about the illustration of a whaleship model on p. 17 of the Autumn 2020 issue. The caption dates the model at ca. 1765, but the model is clearly shown equipped with a martingale or dolphin-striker, a feature known not to have been invented until 1792. So, either it’s a 19th-century model (my guess) or someone added the dolphin-striker to the model at a later date. John Fitzhugh Millar Williamsburg, Virginia From the editor: We contacted the collections and research department at the Nantucket Historical Association, which owns the ship model, and they replied that: We believe that the hull of the model is from the 18th century, but we agree that the rig was redone in more recent times, probably ★
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THE TRADITION OF HANDCARVED EAGLES CONTINUES TODAY
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As we got the prisoners off the trains— most were mere scarecrows—we got them into showers and de-lousing stations that had been set up on the pier. We separated those that were ambulatory from those that needed more immediate medical care, and we listened to them talking. “Doughnuts? Doughnuts!?” one of them exclaimed. “I forgot there were such things.” They marvelled at the stuff in the magazines and newspapers we handed out. “Shirley Temple,” one POW remarked upon seeing the young star’s picture on a magazine cover. “They told us she was dead!” But the most poignant and chilling talk dealt with their experience as prisoners. Some of these men had been on the infamous Bataan Death March and had endured unspeakable mental and physical suffering, and yet they would tell of their ordeals in the most matter-of-fact, almost detached manner. The lack of rancor in their delivery only served to enhance the horror of their words. It was my custom to make regular visits to my patients for as long as they were aboard the ship. During one of these rounds, I met a young Indonesian soldier who I know only by his nickname, “Sally.” One day Sally said to me, “Miss Elizabeth, before the war I was an artist, and if you could get me some paints I would like to do a picture for you.” The ship’s recreation officer provided a paint set, and so it was that Sally produced the painting that hangs in our hallway and still, after all these years, arrests my attention. Why is it painted on silk, you ask? And what are those rust-colored stains on the painting? Well, you see, Sally didn’t have any proper canvas on which to paint, but he had saved a piece of one of those parachutes that had been brought to the inmates of Fukuoka Camp No. 3—the first assurance that “Uncle Remembers Prisoners.” Sally was apologetic about the rustcolored stains. “I tried to find a clean piece of silk, Miss Elizabeth, but most of the parachutes had blood on them. You see, we prisoners were so eager to get into those crates that a lot of us got cut when we were tearing off those metal bands that were wrapped around the boxes.” A few days later, Sally was moved to another hospital ship for the voyage back to his native Sumatra. I never saw him again.
Martingale, a.k.a. Dolphin striker in first half of the 20th century. The davits and boats are also modern additions to the original model.—NHA OWNER’S STATEMENT: Statement filed 9/28/20 required by the Act of Aug. 12, 1970, Sec. 3685, Title 39, US Code: Sea History is published quarterly at 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill NY 10566; minimum subscription price is $17.50. Publisher and editor-in-chief: None; Editor is Deirdre E. O’Regan; owner is National Maritime Historical Society, a non-profit corporation; all are located at 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill NY 10566. During the 12 months preceding October 2019 the average number of (A) copies printed each issue was 17,215; (B) paid and/or requested circulation was: (1) outside county mail subscriptions 6,516; (2) in-county subscriptions 0; (3) sales through dealers, carriers, counter sales, other nonUSPS paid distribution 2148; (4) other classes mailed through USPS 319; (C) total paid and/or requested circulation was 8983; (D) free distribution by mail, samples, complimentary and other 6,917; (E) free distribution outside the mails 530; (F) total free distribution was 7,447; (G) total distribution 16,430; (H) copies not distributed 785; (I) total [of 15G and H] 17,215; (J) Percentage paid and/or requested circulation 55%. The actual numbers for the single issue preceding October 2020 are: (A) total number printed 8,755; (B) paid and/or requested circulation was: (1) outside-county mail subscriptions 5,967; (2) incounty subscriptions 0; (3) sales through dealers, carriers, counter sales, other non-USPS paid distribution 60; (4) other classes mailed through USPS 80; (C) total paid and/or requested circulation was 6,107; (D) free distribution by mail, samples, complimentary and other 0; (E) free distribution outside the mails 250; (F) total free distribution was 1,875; (G) total distribution 7,982; (H) copies not distributed 773; (I) total [of 15G and H] 8,755 (J) Percentage paid and/or requested circulation 77%. I certify that the above statements are correct and complete. (signed) Burchenal Green, Executive Director, National Maritime Historical Society.
SEA HISTORY 173, WINTER 2020–21