Otter (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Otter was a maritime fur trading
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
vessel which was most famous for the rescue, under command of Capt. Ebenezer Dorr ("Dawes"), of Thomas Muir, a famous Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
political exile.
Muir was convicted of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
before the High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1793. He was sentenced and transported to the convict settlement at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
for the space of fourteen years on 31 August 1793.
The Otter, commanded by Capt. Ebenezer Dorr ("Dawes"), was fitted out at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and despatched for Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The Boston register of clearances, Treasury Dept. archives, dates her clearance 20 August 1795. She anchored in Sydney Harbour on 25 January 1796. On 11 February 1796, Muir escaped from the convict settlement on board the Otter.
From this point accounts vary. Many state that after being at sea about four months the ship struck a chain of sunken rocks near the Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
, on the west coast of North America, and was wrecked. Every soul on board perished except Mr. Muir and two sailors. This is however unlikely. Other reliable sources state that when Muir parted from the Otter at Nootka in June 1796, the Otter continued north to Bucareli Bay
Bucareli Bay
Bucareli Bay is a bay in the Alexander Archipelago, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located off the western coast of Prince of Wales Island, between Baker Island and Suemez Island. To the east it connects to various waterways, such as San Alberto Bay. To the west it...
, on the west of Prince of Wales Island and then sailed into the harbor of Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
on 29 October 1796, the first United States vessel to enter a Californian port.
The voyage of the Otter across the Pacific was famously chronicled by Pierre François Péron
Pierre François Péron
French Captain Pierre François Péron, born in 1769 at Lambézellec, near Brest, was a French sailor and trading captain who sailed to many different locations in the late 18th century...
.
Description
Little is known of the Otter. Some accounts state that she was probably a 168-ton ship, the Master was Daniel Bennett and she was owned by Loring & Curtis. It is most probable that her homeport was BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Spanish accounts state that she carried six cannon and a crew of twenty-six men.
Captain Ebenezer Dorr
The life of Ebenezer Dorr is well chronicled. In 1775 Ebenezer Dorr, like Paul ReverePaul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
, rode from Boston to warn residents of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
about the advancing British army. After the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Dorr became a merchant in the China trade
Old China Trade
The Old China Trade was the name given to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghsia in 1844...
.
The rescue and transportation of Thomas Muir
Thomas Muir, a famous ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
political exile was sentenced to be transported for sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
for the space of fourteen years on August 31, 1793. In the middle of April, 1794, he left England on board the Surprise
Surprize (ship)
Surprize was one of the notorious Second Fleet ships to Port Jackson. At 400 tons burthen , she was the smallest ship of the fleet, and was an unsuitable vessel for so long a voyage, proving to be a wet ship even in moderate weather. In rough seas and heavy gales the convicts “were considerably...
; and after a tedious voyage reached the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on Sept. 25 of the same year.
At this time Sydney was still a very small colony at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
with about 1,500 people. Muir stated in letters that he purchased a "small hut and several acres of land". Accounts indicate that the land was located in the immediate vicinity of Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street or Jeffreys Street, Kirribilli is famous as one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House...
in the modern suburb of Kirribilli.
After Muir had been in this penal settlement about two years, a project was formed in America of rescuing him from captivity. Some sources credit the American President, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
with the rescue attempt. Other sources discredit this idea. An authoritative paper titled "The Odyssey of Thomas Muir" by Marjorie Masson and J. F. Jameson examines the escape of Muir from the convict settlement at Sydney.
The Otter, commanded by Captain Dawes, was fitted out at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and despatched for Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where she anchored on 25 January 1796. Captain Dawes and a few of his crew landed at the very spot where Mr. Muir was located (the vicinity of Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street or Jeffreys Street, Kirribilli is famous as one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House...
in the modern suburb of Kirribilli), under the pretence that they were proceeding to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and were in want of fresh water. The captain had an audience with Mr Muir, and not a moment was lost. On the morning of 11 February 1796, Muir was safely taken on board the Otter, which instantly set sail.
Other accounts state that Muir rowed out of the harbour and met the Otter outside the heads. Muir's own account of his escape, as given in subsequent letters preserved in Spanish archives, is that Captain Dorr, coming into Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
in January 1796 agreed to give him a passage to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
provided he could effect his escape without danger to Dorr. On the evening of February 18, the day before Dorr was to sail, Muir put to sea in a small boat, with two servants, taking nothing with him but the shirt and coat on his back; and that about the middle of the next day they were taken into the Otter, at a considerable distance from the land.
Accounts state that as many as 20 convicts escaped from the penal colony in Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
aboard the Otter. Three of the convicts were left on Nomuka Island in Ha'apai Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
on 15 March 1796.
The Otter then landed at Pukapuka
Pukapuka
Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef that encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is the most remote island of the Cook Islands, situated about 1140 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three...
on 3 April 1796. The island was given the name "Isles de la Loutre" (Isles of the Otter) by Pierre François Péron
Pierre François Péron
French Captain Pierre François Péron, born in 1769 at Lambézellec, near Brest, was a French sailor and trading captain who sailed to many different locations in the late 18th century...
, the first mate on board the American merchant ship, Otter and chronicler of the voyage. The following day, Péron and a small party landed and some trading took place near the ship as adzes, mats and other artifacts were exchanged for knives and European goods.
After being at sea about four months many accounts state that the vessel was wrecked, and struck a chain of sunken rocks near Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
, on the west coast of North America, and went to pieces. Every soul on board perished except Mr. Muir and two sailors.
Other reliable sources state that the Otter continued north to Bucareli Bay, on the west of Prince of Wales Island. Whether Muir went with her, or remained for a space at Nootka, or was transferred to some other ship. First hand accounts (by Péron
Pierre François Péron
French Captain Pierre François Péron, born in 1769 at Lambézellec, near Brest, was a French sailor and trading captain who sailed to many different locations in the late 18th century...
) omits to say. Péron makes no further mention of Muir until, on 31 October 1796, he reached Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
going south, where he states that Muir had preceded him. At the time the Spanish settlement at Nootka Sound, protected by Fort San Miguel
Fort San Miguel
For Angola fort, see Fortaleza de São MiguelFort San Miguel was a Spanish fortification at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound , Vancouver Island....
had been abandoned for less than a year, by the terms of the third Nootka Convention
Nootka Convention
The Nootka Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s which averted a war between the two empires over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.The claims of Spain dated back...
. The buildings and gardens remained for years afterwards.
Entry into the port of Monterey
Spanish accounts note that the Otter is said to have been the first United States vessel to arrive at MontereyMonterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. The Otter was described as a United States man-of-war. She carried six cannon and a crew of twenty-six men.
Entering the port of Monterey, her captain was supplied with wood and water. When ready to sail he asked permission of Governor Borica to land eleven English sailors who had secretly boarded his vessel at Botany Bay, Australia. The Governor refused his consent. It was a violation of Spanish law to land any foreigners. The shrewd Yankee captain, however, that night forced the sailors at the point of a pistol to go ashore. He then speedily put to sea. Borica was very angry. Making the best of the situation, however, he put the men to work as carpenters and blacksmiths.
Subsequent records
The Otter is recorded as having subsequently visited HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in 1796. The record states that the ship was on the Boston registry and Ebenezer Dorr was the Master. It sighted Hawaii on 2 December 1796 and left Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
on 1 January 1797. The versions that state that the ship was wrecked are unlikely to be true.
The fate of the Otter is not known.
Captain Ebenezer Dorr is known to have returned to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. He died in 1809.