The Inez finds five ships in port and Kosraeans dying daily of an epidemic.

What happened

Captain William Jackson of the New Bedford whaler Inez found five ships in port, “more than the natives ever saw here at one time,” and judged the people’s condition “deplorable,” with fever and “a foul disease” killing some every day. He estimated the population at 1,200 to 1,500, and the high chief told the officers he wanted a missionary.

Why it matters

Hezel uses Jackson’s report as early evidence of the diseases that cut Kosrae’s population by about 90% between 1838 and about 1890.