s badly navigating the waters along the coast, Delano presumed that it was a ship in distress. As a result, he decided to take the whale boat to investigate and help those on board.
             While Delano advanced toward the ship, Melville gives the first hint of how Delano's prejudices keep him from being able to perceive the world properly. As Delano rowed toward the ship, he could not grasp the fact that it was a ship he was moving toward because he saw Negroes on the deck. At the time, Negroes usually did not walk freely on decks, but were locked in the holds as slaves. Delano made excuses and thought the ship was impossible things, such as a monastery because he thought the black figures on deck were friars dressed in black robes. His prejudices about blacks prevented him from seeing even just simple things, including ships, accurately.
             Upon boarding the ship, Delano found it and its crew in horrible shape. While it was a very large and one-time fine vessel, it had become a horrendous ship looking like a funeral carriage. Barnacles encrusted the hulls and rust covered its once-fine features. The ropes were woolly and not tarred, and like "mourning weeds" sea grass swept over the engraved name of the ship, San Dominick. The ship's figure head was wrapped in canvas and directly beneath it was written "Follow Your Leader." In front of the ship, there was a shield-like stern-piece with the picture of a dark satyr in a mask holding
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