Which Native American harpooneer in Moby-Dick comes from Gay Head? The answer is Tashtego. He is a Native American harpooneer from Gay Head, the western promontory of Martha’s Vineyard, and serves under the Pequod’s second mate, Stubb.
Melville introduces Tashtego among the ship’s three principal harpooneers. He is portrayed as an exceptionally skilled whaleman whose hunting tradition comes from the Wampanoag community associated with Gay Head. His expertise makes him an important member of the Pequod’s whale boats.
Tashtego also has one of the novel’s most dramatic episodes. While cutting into a sperm whale’s head to recover spermaceti, he falls inside the cavity when the head drops into the sea. He is eventually rescued, reinforcing both his endurance and his importance to the crew.
The other harpooneers are Queequeg and Daggoo. Fedallah is not a Native American harpooneer from Gay Head; he is Ahab’s mysterious Parsee harpooneer. Daggoo is African, while Queequeg comes from a fictional South Pacific island.