Caleb's Crossing

Bethia’s narrative proceeds to summer, when a whale drifts onto a beach near the settlement. According to the customary relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans, any whales that wash up outside the settlement belong to the Wampanoag. However, the winter has been lean, so Nortown, a fisherman, persuades other settlers that the tribe will be distant from that spot for some time and that the settlers are doing the right thing by harvesting the whale oil and meat. Bethia’s father would resist this plan, but he is away on business in Nantucket. Bethia’s less morally grounded brother, Makepeace, insists that they must partake in the unsavory work.

During the work, which proceeds into the night, Bethia is sent to find driftwood for rendering the oil. She stumbles on to a gathering of the Wampanoag, who, as it turns out, are not as far away as Nortown believed. They are conducting a ceremony involving drums and singing. Even though she knows that it is a sin to observe gods other than the Christian God, Bethia is captivated. She even slips out of her clothing, moving to the music. Fortunately, no one witnesses her transgression and she makes her way back to the settlement in the morning.