The whaler Potomac lies at anchor at Kosrae for a month.

What happened

The Nantucket whaleship Potomac, under Oliver C. Swain, was one of many whalers that used Kosrae’s sheltered harbors for long rest stops in the 1840s. An account of an earlier Potomac voyage in 1843 (Macy’s book) describes sailors visiting Kosraean homes, wrestling matches, dances, and preparations for a burial feast.