The piece of twine made by Benjamin Lawrence during his three months at sea in an Essex whaleboat. Lawrence spent a portion of each day twisting stray strands of rope into an ever lengthening piece of twine. The boatsteerer vowed that if he should ever get out of the whaleboat alive, he would save the string as a memorial to the ordeal. Lawrence was one of eight crew members to survive.

Photo by Terry Pommet.
Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association.

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