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Originally published in the Historic Nantucket, Volume 33, Number 1 (July 1985)

Peter Folger Ewer -The Man Who Created the "Camels"
by Edouard A. Stackpole

ONE OF THE MOST remarkable men in Nantucket's history, Peter Folger Ewer has been virtually forgotten today. This is probably due to the fact that his active career found him busily engaged in mainland activities, and his involvement in Island life was comparatively short. When illness forced his retirement to Nantucket he had been at work in California, and his death occurred only a few months after his return home. But this resourceful, energetic man made a marked impression on all with whom he was associated.

Peter F. Ewer had one certain claim to be remembered as an outstanding citizen of Nantucket. He was the man who designed and created that most ingenious floating drydock known as the "Camels," a well-planned and successful contrivance which made possible the towing of deeply loaded whaleships over Nantucket Bar. Had this device been adapted earlier to Nantucket whaling procedures during the critical 1835-1855 period, the whaling merchants of Nantucket might have been enabled to keep the industry in competition with its rivals for a quarter century more.

The son of Peter Folger Ewer was the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, who became one of the most distinguished clergymen in the country in his time. Describing his father, he wrote: "He was strongly attached to his Island home, and displayed qualities which marked him as always helpful, if sometimes visionary. In person he was of medium height, and was quick and active in all his movements. His complexion was dark, and his hair and eyes black. Although one of the 'knowing Folgers,' he was not a great reader but was more interested in men and things."

By modern standards, Peter F. Ewer would be considered a genius, a man of many parts. Shrewd in business life, generous in association with his friends, and an advocate of applying one's talents in a practical sense. In view of his success in business in several fields, he goes down in history as the man "who designed and built the Camels". In view of his varied accomplishments, it is probable that he would prefer to be thus known in Nantucket history.

He was born in Nantucket on March 15, 1800, in the home of his parents, Silvanus and Margaret (Folger) Ewer, at 19 Union Street. Silvanus Ewer was a shipwright, born at Osterville on Cape Cod, who moved to Nantucket in 1788 at the age of twenty-one, to follow that trade. He married Miss Margaret Folger, of Nantucket, daughter of Peter and Judith (Burnell) Folger, on July 9,1798. Being of a thrifty disposition, Silvanus invested in a whaleship out of Nantucket and the ship returned after a most successful voyage. Encouraged, he continued his investments in other whaleships and eventually became a prosperous whaling merchant.

Peter F. Ewer attended Nantucket schools when they were a system of private schools, ranging from the ucent schools", grammar schools, and udame schools". Interested in mercantile pursuits he applied himself readily, and his father, aware of this industry, advanced him the money with which to launch his own business as a shipping merchant. By applying himself vigorously, he became moderately successful. In November of 1820 he married Eunice Cartwright, daughter of John and Mary Cartwright, of Nantucket. Their only child, George Alexander Ewer, eventually settled in Valparaiso, Chile, where he married a lady of Spanish descent and became a resident of that city.

On May 22,1825, Peter F. Ewer married Mary Cartwright, sister of his deceased wife. A son, Frederick C. Ewer, was born on January 28, 1833. The son, Frederick Coffin Ewer, entered the ministry and became one of the most renowned clergymen in the Episcopal Church, first in San Francisco, and then in New York City. The famous Ewer map of Nantucket, which was designed by the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, printed in 1869, was an important contribution to the story of Nantucket's historical progress.

To return to Peter F. Ewer; encouraged by his initial success as a shipping merchant in Nantucket, and realizing that the firms in Nantucket were established competitors, he decided to try new areas and moved to Providence in 1829. Here he became a partner with Caleb Wescott, under the name of Peter F. Ewer & Co., entering the shipping business dealing with whale oil and sperm candles, on a commission basis. Starting in the West India trade, he soon after entered the European and South American markets.

Always exploring new ventures, Peter Ewer became interested in a company formed to build and operate steamboats between New York and Providence. The business went well, and in 1834 he moved with his family to New York City. Here he entered into a partnership with Elihu Mix, again as a commission house trading in oil, manufacturing and shipping. Upon the death of his father, in 1836, Peter returned to Nantucket. As the inheritor of a considerable estate, he decided to retire from his busy career and, with his wife, he spent a few years visiting countries in Europe and South America. In 1840 he discussed his future with his wife and some close friends and made the decision to return to Nantucket and once more plunge into the business world. Nantucket was then enjoying the most successful era in its 19th century prosperity.

At this time Peter Ewer made a momentous decision. The problem of Nantucket Bar offered a challenge, and he developed an idea which would meet that challenge. Due to the low water, created by the great shoal which stretched across the harbor's mouth, it was necessary to use lighters of shallow draft to carry out the supplies and whaling gear for ships being fitted out for their long voyages. Similarly, the lighters were used to unload the whaleships in back of the Bar upon their return home. The alternative was to sail over to Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard to complete these processes.

To Peter F. Ewer this old custom was a handicap which should be conquered. Also, with the ships becoming deeper and heavier the problem was bound to increase with the years. He went to the counting houses of the ship owners and to the stores of the merchants and proposed a brand new idea. This was simply to build a floating drydock, in which to carry the loaded ship over the bar, both outward and inward bound, and thus eliminate the expenses involved. Most of his listeners agreed with him in theory - but who was to build and finance the plan? His answer was prompt. He would design and build the contraption which he termed the "Camels".

Realizing the problems facing him, Peter Ewer talked with whaling merchants and other business people in Nantucket. He pointed out that the use of "Camels" was not a new idea; that the Dutch had successfully adapted such floating dry docks to bring vessels over the shallows and to enter the Zuider Zee. He also remembered his discussions with Capt. William Morris, who had broached the project for Nantucket in 1827, and had advanced plans for using pumps driven by wind-power to fill the two hulls of the "Camels". Mr. Ewer was ably supported by Samuel Haynes Jenks, editor of The Inquirer, who wrote: "If our ships could be laden and unladen at our wharves, without regard to the obstruction offered by the Bar, it is a desideratum in which all classes of the community ought to feel interested."

Peter Ewer's design was quickly drawn up and all interested parties studied it. Realizing there would be more doubters than sponsors, he decided to begin work without further delay. On the shallow beach of the south harbor, he constructed two pontoon-like hulls, each 135 feet long, flat bottomed, with a beam of 29 feet at the bottom and 20 feet at the deck line. The outer side of each was straight sided but the inside was curved sharply to conform with the shape of a ship's hull. Each section was divided into a lower hold and an upper hold, or upper and lower chambers, in which a steam engine at each end could pump water to lower the hulls. When these "Camels" were placed in position on each side of the ship, the pumps filled the chambers until a proper depth was obtained, and, when once below the level of the keel of the ship, heavy chains were rigged which, drawn by windlasses operated by the steam engines, the ship was drawn into position, and the chains held the hull securely in place.

Ewer made certain that his patrons should recognize that the "Camels" were not a visionary's scheme; that it had been successfully used in Holland and other European places for more than a century. Because of the proven strength of the device the name "Camels" was bestowed on them. At this period in whaling history, a new element had entered the picture-that of getting the oil and candles from Nantucket to the several market places as quickly as possible. Competition with other whaling ports was now a prime factor.

In his announcements concerning the "Camels" he stressed this and other points, and the savings to the Nantucket merchants was an obvious and paramount attraction. In the use of lighters certain losses were a factor, in both loading and unloading materials. In rough weather there was the damage to the vessels and the lighters, as well as to the oil and candles, in addition to the injury to the stevedores. Delays due to storms were also factors in the marketing process.

In the early summer of 1842 the "Camels" were completed and launched. As the odd-looking hulls swung at anchor in the harbor the discussion as to their potential continued. Peter Ewer was satisfied with what he had accomplished-but he was also nearly exhausted from his project. And there was still the first test to be carried out. Which Nantucket whaling firm was willing to undergo the experiment—take the initial risk? Weeks went by and summer months were filled with expectancy, but Ewer felt the tension in his company's ranks only added to his determination to continue his plans.

The first test came on September 4, 1842. Christopher Mitchell & Co., the owners of whaleship Phebe declared a willingness to allow the experiment of taking the ship out to sea over the Bar, to begin her regular voyage to the Pacific. Inside Brant Point, the "Camels" were placed in position and the water pumped into the hulls. Then the ship was hauled into place, and the chains secured. The steamboat Telegraph put her hawsers aboard each of the "Camels," hulls and the towing began. Suddenly the chains began to part. Frederick C. Sanford, well-known Nantucketer, described the circumstances as follows:

"...The chain cables with which the camels were to be bound together, began to snap asunder; as each one parted, others became weaker; and soon all of them gave way and the ship went down into the water. You could hear each chain go off with a noise like a cannon, which was heard throughout the town. The ship's copper was supposed to be damaged, rendering it necessary to take the Phebe back and heave her out again."

It was months before the Phebe was able to sail again, and the incident brought consternation to the supporters of the "Camels", but not to Peter Ewer. The chains had been borrowed for the occasion, a few from ships in the harbor. Ewer had ordered chains especially cast for the work in the "Camels", and when they arrived he anxiously waited for the opportunity to put them to use. The opportunity soon came when the firm of Charles & Henry Coffin announced to Ewer it would allow their whaleship Constitution to be taken out in the "Camels". On the morning of September 21 there was a large gathering of people along the waterfront and at Brant Point, with the rooftop "walks" being filled with onlookers. The "Camels" were soon in place, the ship in position, and the chains set up. This time all went "according to plan," and the steamboat Telegraph towed them safely over the Bar into deep water.

In the diary of Robert Barker for that date, it is stated the steamboat master, Captain James Barker, intended to tow the "Camels" and the Constitution earlier in the morning of September 21 but that the wind was too strong and dead against them. Captain Barker then steamed over the Bar to take in tow the whaleship Napoleon, Capt. William Plaskett, which had arrived home after a three-year voyage to the Pacific, and tow her into the harbor. This accomplished, and the wind more favorable, the Telegraph towed the "Camels" with the Constitution safely out to the outer roads, and the chains were let go and the whaleship regained her natural position in the waters of Nantucket Sound.

Robert Barker commented: "This practically showed the utility of the 'Camels,' and I now predict a new era in the whaling service from this place."

This prophecy was fullfilled. Mr. Barker continued his observations: "The sight of seeing the Telegraph with a loaded ship in tow, high out of the water, is ... an occurrence never before witnessed here. Many of our housetop (walks), and other eminences are filled with spectators to witness the event. This fully answers the wishes of the principal undertaker, Mr. Peter F. Ewer, and others concerned with him in this enterprise."

But more excitement was forthcoming, and Mr. Barker recounted it in his entry for October 15,1842 which reads:

"About 9:00 o'clock, the report of cannons, the escape of steam, the ringing of our South bell, and the cheers of the inhabitants, annnounced that the ship Peru, Capt. Joshua Coffin, safely arrived in our harbor with a full cargo of oil on board. She is the first loaded ship that ever crossed our Bar in the 'Camels',... I counted upwards of twenty reports of cannon, and our South Bell rang a long time in celebration, and the fact is now established that an inward bound ship, with all on board, may be brought to the wharves by the use of the 'Camels', and a steamboat to tow the whole..."

On October 16, the ship Daniel Webster arrived loaded with oil, and was brought into the harbor in "Camels", and Mr. Barker commented: "As she was one of our most heavily loaded whaleships, no doubt can be hereafter entertained as to the utility of the "Camels" Later this month, the ship James Loper was outfitted at her wharf and the "Camels" took her on and the Massachusetts towed her safely over the Bar, the Telegraph having experienced some engine problems. On Nov. 11, the whaleship Rambler was taken out to begin her voyage to the Pacific.

Peter Ewer had placed advertisements in the local newspapers which claimed that the use of the "Camels" would save the whaling ship owners some $6,000 yearly in costs. His presentation was clear-cut:

Outward and Inward Bound with Camels.

Outward Bound

To take a ship of 350V2 tons (being average tonnage) over the bar, and place her safely in 4 fathoms of water, with Camels at 60 cts per ton $210.30
Steamboat to tow Camels and ship $50.00
Total $260.30

Inward Bound

For a 1943V2 bbls. of whale and sperm oil, and other articles equal to 311 3/16 bbls., making 2254V2 bbls. average. Lighter account of 92 ships for last 5 years at 17 cents per bbl. $383.26V2
Steamboat to tow 50.00
Total 433.26
Balance on each ship in favor of the "Camels" $304.47V2

Outward and Inward Bound at Edgartown

Outward Bound

Lightering ship of 50V2 tons $110.00
Pilot to Edgartown 15.00
Steamboat to tow the ship 75.00
Extra labor at Edgartown 50.00
Wharfage, storage, victualling watering, watching, losses, agents' expenses, etc., 100.00
1-4% extra Insurance of ship and cargo to Edgartown -$35,000 87.50
Total $437.50

Inward Bound

2,254 bbls. of oil and sundries from Edgartown, being average lighter acct. on 92 ships, at 12 cents. $270.54 Steamboat from Edgartown 75.00

Pilot from Edgartown 15.00

Losses, expenses, provisions etc., at Edgartown 100.00 1-4% extra insurance on $40,000(and many are worth $80,000) $100.00

Total $560.00

Outward bound, $437.50

Inward Bound $560.54

Total $998.04

The success of Peter Ewer's new company was slow but steady. In 1843, fifteen whaleships arrived at Nantucket, and eighteen sailed. Of these 19 used the old lightering system, with the use of sloops, and 14 were "cameled". Seven were taken out in the "Camels" and seven brought into port. In 1844, 15 ships arrived and 19 sailed; a total of thirty-four. Of these, 23 followed the old custom of lightering, and 11 used the "Camels". In 1845, the tide turned - out of 28 ships which arrived and 29 that sailed, 12 were "cameled" in the course of 24 hours, it being December and the weather predictions not favorable. Compared to a total of 12,612 bbls. of whaleoil brought in by the lighters, a total of 50,354 had been brought in on ships ensconsed in the "Camels". One of the little known men involved by the "Camel" company was Captain John H. Pease, who had charge of the marine operations.

But the most serious problems to affect the success of Nantucket's whaling fortunes and, through these, the "Camels" as well were two different catastrophes. First, the terrible fire of 1846, which destroyed the entire waterfront and the business section of the old Town. Three years later came the Gold Rush to California, with 800 enterprising Nantucket men joining in the migration to San Francisco and the west coast. Although whaling continued, the diminishing of the investments in the firms (some of them established many years) became apparent, and several Nantucket firms began to sell their ships to other ports. Thus an industry which would have been greatly aided by the "Camels" was slowly disappearing. In little more than a decade after 1855 it had vanished from the island which had been its pioneer in "deep-sea whaling".

No one on Nantucket realized the economic changes in Nantucket more than Peter F. Ewer. Despite his enterprise and energy, he found the situation beyond his planning, and he lost most of his fortune by the gradual decline of the Island's whaling, coupled by some unwise investments of his own. Late in 1848, he embarked on another adventure, taking passage on a ship bound for Valparaiso, Chile, where he hoped to start a trading company. Soon after his arrival in South America word of the California gold discovery swept the country, and Ewer went aboard a ship for San Francisco. Upon arrival, he immediately repaired to the gold mine sites, but he noted the need for supplies to the miners and set about to establish such stores.

In 1850, his ability attracted the attention of Sacramento County authorities and he was appointed both the Coroner and Sheriff of the county. Soon after he was placed in charge of a mine in Grass Valley. In 1853, he resigned his position and went to live in San Francisco. He was about to embark on a new enterprise, which would bring into good use his mechanical skills in laying out the new grades for the streets of the city, when he was suddenly stricken with a malady soon identified as Cancer. He was taken to the home of his son, the Rev. Ferdinand Ewer, where he stayed eight months. Early in April, 1854, he returned to his old home in Nantucket, where he lingered for eight months. On January 7,1855, he died at the age of 54 years, 9 months and 23 days.

His famous son, the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, wrote of him: "In person he was of medium stature, and was quick and energetic in his walk and all his movements. He was generous, strongly attached to the Island of his birth, always hopeful and at times, even visionary. In conversation, he was cheerful and entertaining, and ever had at hand a fund of illustrative anecdotes."

One of Peter F. Ewer's youthful ideas, in 1824, was to establish the milestones along the road to 'Sconset, and when this was accomplished he decided that the maintenance of these stones should be a family tradition, especially keeping them painted white.