Daggoo Confronts Spanish Sailor Over Racist Taunt
Daggoo, the enormous African harpooneer, confronts a Spanish sailor who makes a racist comment about his race being “the undeniable dark side of mankind—devilish dark at that.” The Spanish sailor claims “no offence” but his advance is clearly provocative. Daggoo responds grimly with a single word: “None.”
Crew Fight Erupts Between Daggoo and Spaniard
The tension escalates as a St. Jago’s sailor observes the Spaniard seems “mad or drunk” and comments that the Mogul’s fire-waters are taking long to work. Lightning—or Daggoo’s bared teeth—occurs. Daggoo springs at the Spaniard, shouting “Swallow thine, mannikin! White skin, white liver!” The Spaniard meets him with “Knife thee heartily! big frame, small spirit!” The crew shouts “A row! a row! a row!” Tashtego observes “A row a’low, and a row aloft—Gods and men—both brawlers! Humph!” A Belfast sailor calls to “plunge in,” an English sailor demands fair play and a ring, and the old Manx sailor notes “in that ring Cain struck Abel.”
Mate Calls Crew to Reef Topsails
The mate’s voice from the quarterdeck interrupts the brawl with urgent commands: “Hands by the halyards! in top-gallant sails! Stand by to reef topsails!” The crew recognizes the squall’s approach and prepares to respond.
Crew Scrambles as Squall Hits the Ship
The entire crew responds with “The squall! the squall! jump, my jollies!” as they scatter to their stations. The chaos of the storm contrasts sharply with the earlier dancing revelry as the ship must now face a genuine emergency.
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