28: The Fight for the Nanina and Charles Barnard's Return to the Sea Eric J. Dolan Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World Barnard and his party survived 534 days in wretched conditions, primarily thanks to their sizable do
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John Batchelor
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🗓️ 26 October 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
Eric J. Dolan
Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World
Barnard and his party survived 534 days in wretched conditions, primarily thanks to their sizable dog, Scent, who hunted wild hogs. When rescued by British whale ships and taken to Lima, Peru, Barnard regretfully gave Scent to a British whaling captain, believing the dog deserved a better life than an arduous two-year voyage home. Barnard returned home bankrupt, but Murray and Son successfully appealed the prize court's initial decision. The court ultimately sided with the Americans, awarding them the value of the brig—a ruling Danda resented for the rest of his life. Though initially vowing to quit the sea, Barnard resumed sealing and later became a port warden and light ship captain, publishing his account in 1829.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CBSI on the world. |
| 0:06.9 | I'm visiting with Eric J. Dole, and his new book is Left for Dead, which is sealing, |
| 0:11.5 | which is the war of 1812 to 1814, Madison's War, which is also the prize court, a rastfully member of the Royal Navy, |
| 0:24.0 | who is not in any way corrected by the prize court, a rastfully member of the Royal Navy, who is not in any way corrected by the prize court for quite some time. And our heroes, the Barnard's family, but most important, |
| 0:31.6 | I'll get right to it. Charles eventually survives, and they're rescued by two ships coming in who take them back to |
| 0:39.4 | South America, Buenos Aires, I believe. But what happens to scent, Eric? Do we know his fate? |
| 0:46.8 | Yeah. They are rescued by two British whale ships that keep going on their whaling voyage, |
| 0:52.5 | take Barnard and the other men along with |
| 0:54.6 | scent. But when they're in the Pacific Ocean, they actually come into Lima, Peru. And while |
| 1:01.8 | there, Barnard has some conversations with some other whaling captains. And one of the whaling |
| 1:08.8 | captains, the British whaling captain, took a real shine to scent. |
| 1:13.2 | And even though Barnard loved his dog, he knew that he had an arduous, uncertain voyage back to America |
| 1:19.8 | when the war was still going on. |
| 1:21.8 | It ultimately took him almost two years to get back to New York City. |
| 1:25.3 | So he did not feel it was proper for him to take scent with him on this uncertain voyage with minimal, you know, he didn't have control over everything. |
| 1:34.7 | And if he gave it to this British whaling captain who really liked scent, he would have a much better life after all of the difficulties that he had been put through. |
| 1:45.4 | So regretfully, but with earnest dedication, Barnard gave his dog to this British whaling captain. |
| 1:54.6 | I don't know what happened after that. |
| 1:56.4 | I'm sure Sent had a nice life, however long it lasted. |
| 2:00.7 | But he was a great character in the book and really was critical to their survival. |
| 2:07.7 | It's my reading of your very careful research that without Scent, they've got a much, |
| 2:14.4 | a much tougher road ahead and might have quit. |
... |
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