Whimsical, Reverential, And Mythical.

The narrator vividly describes the isolated and sand-covered island of Nantucket and the seafaring history and character of its inhabitants.

As the voyage continues, the narrator details Nantucket's geography, its barren landscape covered with sand, and its distance from the mainland, emphasizing its isolation. Through a blend of reality and hyperbolic myth, he captures the essence of the people who, from humble beginnings catching shellfish, have become formidable whalers dominating the oceans. The chapter touches on a local legend of the island's settlement by Native Americans, and portrays the Nantucketers as being so intertwined with the sea that even their furniture has marine life attached to it. The chapter concludes by likening the Nantucketers to prairie cocks in the prairie, natural and attuned to their maritime environment.