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In the 19th century, |
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oil from the whales' massive heads |
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could make great fortunes. |
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Whalemen targeted the calves first, |
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knowing the rest of the pod |
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would soon come to their aid |
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and into the range of the harpoons. |
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But for one ship, |
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the whales got their revenge. |
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Without warning, |
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a huge bull rammed the hull of the 87-foot Essex. |
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Within days, |
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the broken ship was lost to the deep. |
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With their ship gone, |
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the 21 survivors squeezed into three whaleboats, 21 |
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which now became their lifeboats. |
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The men salvaged what they could, |
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but they were woefully ill-equipped |
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for the trials that lay ahead. |
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The survivors of the Essex were in virtually unexplored waters, EsseX |
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2,000 miles west of South America on the equator, |
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almost as far from land as it's possible to be. |
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They were about to find out just how challenging survival in the South Pacific can be. |