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V . The Pequod There were three whaling ships in the harbour . They were all preparing for a voyage of three years or more . I looked at each one , and at last I chose the third ship . Her name was the Pequod . She took her name from the Pequot , a Native American people of New England . The Pequod was a small , old ship , darkened by the weather of many seas . But she was a strange and beautiful sight . Her sides were decorated with the long white teeth of sperm whales , and many of her ropes passed through holes in pieces of whale bone . Even the tiller , the long handle that turned the ship , was made from the jaw of a whale . She looked almost like a living creature . On the deck I found an old man sitting in a kind of small tent . This was Captain Peleg . He and his friend , Captain Bildad , were the main owners of the Pequod . Both were retired whalers now , and they were Quakers , a group of Christians who dress simply and speak in an old - fashioned way . “ So you want to go whaling ? ” said Peleg , and he looked at me sharply . “ Have you ever been on a whaling ship before ? ” “ No , sir , ” I said . “ But I have sailed on other ships . ” “ Why do you want to go whaling ? ” “ I want to see what whaling is like , ” I said . “ And I want to see the world . ” “ Want to see the world , do you ? ” said Peleg . “ Then look over the side of the ship , and tell me what you see . ” I looked at the sea . “ Only water , ” I said , “ and a lot of sky . ” “ Well , that’s all the world you will see on a whaling ship , ” said Peleg . But he agreed to take me . On a whaling ship the sailors do not get a regular salary . Each man gets a share of the money from the oil at the end of the voyage . This share is called a lay . The captain has the biggest lay , and a new sailor like me has a very small one . Bildad sat reading his Bible , and he suggested the seven hundred and seventy - seventh lay for me . That was almost nothing . Peleg became very angry with him . “ Do you want to rob the young man ? ” he shouted . “ I will give him the three hundredth lay ! ” And so I got the three hundredth . Then I asked about the captain of the Pequod . I wanted to meet him . “ His name is Captain Ahab , ” said Peleg . “ You can’t see him now . He is ill at home . ” “ Ahab ? ” I said . “ Wasn’t Ahab a wicked king in the Bible ? ” “ He didn’t choose his own name , ” said Peleg . “ Listen to me , young man . Ahab is a strange man , and he doesn’t speak much . But he is a great captain , and a good man in his own way . On his last voyage a monstrous whale took off his leg . Since then he has been dark and moody . But I know him well . He has a young wife and a little child at home . ”
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