By Heather Rockwood, Communications Associate
In 1765, nearly 100 Massachusetts vessels fished and whaled the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Straits of Belle Isle, which lie between Newfoundland and Labrador. There were several Cape Cod whalers, including the two ships that concern us today, captained by Capt. Joseph Doane of Chatham and Capt. Lot Gage of Harwich. On 21 June the hunting was good in the Straits; a sizable number of boats from several vessels were in the water, and numerous whales had been sighted. One whale had succeeded in eluding capture, until Asa Nickerson, commanding one of Doane’s boats, drove his “iron” into it. The whale sounded with the line. At some point thereafter, Gage himself struck the same whale and Nickerson’s line came free. Gage was able to maintain control over the whale, supervise the kill, and bring its marketable parts aboard ship.
It seems that Gage then owned the whale and the rights to all proceeds made from it, right? Not according to Doane who then demanded one-eighth share in the profits of the whale since his sailor caught the whale first. Gage stood his ground and Doane had no choice but to take him to court.
This is where the story gets very interesting and dramatic! The two captains brought the case to the Inferior Court in Barnstable on Cape Cod, where people were swayed to a side, depending on long-standing rivalries, which ship’s sailors told them the story, or because they held a financial interest in one of the ships. Sides were chosen all along the Cape and public opinion was running rampant.
In June 1766, John Adams was asked to serve as counsel to Doane in his suit for that one-eighth share. James Otis, Jr., John Adams’ mentor as a lawyer, as well as James Otis, Sr., represented the Gage interests.
Depositions were taken in Barnstable, but public opinion was so strong on each side that both lawyers felt that holding the trial in Barnstable would be detrimental since a partial jury would not be found there. It was agreed between them that depositions are fine, but the Vice Admiralty Court would be the place for the eventual trial.
On 6 January 1768 John Adams entered “Joseph Doane v. Lot Gage, rela. a Whale” on the docket for the Vice Admiralty Court. At this time Robert Treat Paine, a whaler himself for a brief time, joined the father and son Otis on the counsel for Gage.
I’d like to pause here because there are things happening in Boston that would have made emotions run even higher. In October 1768, 2,000 troops arrived from his Royal Highness’s Army to quell suspected rebellion in Boston. This came after taxes were levied in the previous years and Bostonians refused to pay them which resulted in tax collectors’ property and bodies being attacked. The soldiers were there to dampen the fervor in the town, but it stoked the fire of rebellion instead and eventually led to the Boston Massacre on 5 March 1770, after which the soldiers were sent out of Boston.
I’ve written before about James Otis, Jr. and his volatile, if brilliant, nature, but an incident occurred during this time that shines a little light on his character and capacity. Otis was known for having exemplary oratory capabilities and could wax poetic for literally hours. However, he could also have bouts of mania where he would malign his enemies in Boston papers, have abrupt changes in mood, and be despondent for days. In September 1768, one of his enemies finally had enough. Otis responded in one of his newspaper writings to something tax collector John Robinson had said about him. Robinson and Otis happened upon each other in a Boston coffeehouse and a fight ensued. Robinson struck Otis on the head with his cane, after which Otis was never quite the same. He had mental struggles before this, but after the incident it was difficult for Otis to carry on conversations, handle his law cases, or do his duty to the Massachusetts General Assembly. His family eventually secluded him in a friend’s house. Although he would periodically dine with friends or other Assembly members, it was obvious he was very different.
With all this going on in Boston, and personally with Otis, on 22 April 1769 the parties agreed to submit the matter to arbitrators.
Watch for Part 2 coming soon, where we will discuss the particulars of the case and the outcome.
Resources