"The first man of the Pequod that mounted the mast to look out for the White Whale, on the White Whale’s own peculiar ground; that man was swallowed up in the deep."
Musing: In a chapter filled with signs and symbols, here is yet another sign that the Pequod is on a doomed voyage. While this chapter describes the first man to lose his life 'hunting' the white whale, it will not be the last. Melville reminds us that the tragedy takes place once the hunters enter the home of the whale. This is a subtle reminder that the whale has not come looking for them.