Washington Black’s first dive and capture of the octopus

Washington Black’s first dive and capture of the octopus marks a turn from solitary endurance toward curiosity, connection, and a self-directed scientific ambition. Sent underwater to collect specimens for G. M. Goff, Washington finds an orange octopus in a wreck and chooses to bring it back alive. The encounter changes the meaning of the expedition: what had been a hunt for objects to display becomes the beginning of a plan to let the public see marine creatures living.

The dive and its immediate purpose

The dive takes place during an expedition organized by G. M. Goff and Tanna Goff. They reach a recently wrecked vessel aboard the Blue Betty, carrying equipment in crates on a mule-drawn cart. Goff has heard that the wreck’s shallows may yield specimens for his collection. Washington is tasked with descending in a diving suit while Tanna remains below deck so she will not see him undressing. Goff helps him into the copper helmet and leather air hose of a patched suit originally used for salvage work off Whitstable.

Underwater, Washington must move cautiously: the helmet could leak if he fails to keep himself upright, and a poisonous jellyfish forces him to propel himself away. He reaches the wreck, which lies upright, overgrown with weed, and rusted around its iron railings. Fish pass through its open portholes. In the cold, hazy water, he searches among the wreck’s formations and sees a flash of orange that seems at first to blend back into the rust-colored surroundings.

Recognition and encounter

Washington approaches slowly, unsure at first whether the changing shape is real or an effect of the water and light. The creature rises from its rock, its orange arms spreading and its suckers bright against them. The sight brings Washington a sudden feeling of hope. He recognizes that it is female, and the prospect of Goff killing her to preserve her as an exhibition specimen troubles him. Instead of treating capture and display as inseparable, he imagines taking the octopus—and other marine life—to England alive, where visitors might see the creatures as living beings.

The idea immediately presents practical obstacles. Washington questions what kinds of marine life could share a container, how plants could be transported without rotting, and how any of the creatures could be kept alive. He recognizes that the necessary science and methods are not yet in place. Still, the very difficulty of the undertaking strengthens his resolve to try it. The dive thus becomes more than a successful collection trip: it gives shape to a project prompted by the difference between possessing a specimen and preserving its life.

Capture and return to the surface

The octopus first releases a cloud of ink between itself and Washington, then moves through the water, spreading and vibrating its arms. Washington holds out his hands gently. After hovering close, the animal swims directly into them. This encounter is reciprocal rather than simply an act of pursuit: the creature approaches Washington, and he receives it without describing it as a lifeless prize.

When Washington surfaces late in the day, he is exhausted and shivering. Goff helps remove the helmet and suit and gives him a blanket. Washington asks him to unhook the trap on his back, which contains the unknown octopus along with Glaucus atlanticus, comatulids, and sipunculid worms. On deck, Washington opens a cage carefully and lifts out the orange creature. Goff says it resembles Bathypolypus arcticus but is too large for that species. Washington points out that it inked him, a feature he believes Bathypolypus does not have. As he holds the octopus, it wraps around his arm; Goff observes that it seems to like him.

Consequences and significance

The octopus’s capture alive supplies a concrete answer to the question Washington had formed underwater: marine life might be brought to an audience not only as preserved specimens but as living creatures. The dive therefore anticipates the living aquatic exhibition that Washington and Goff later propose and that is accepted for London as Ocean House. Washington understands that the larger project is his idea and experiences it as a creation of his own, unlike the Cloud-cutter, which he regards as Titch’s vision despite his work on it.

The encounter also changes the emotional register of the return. With the octopus braided over his arms and the cove’s lanterns approaching, Washington feels calm and distant from the rough life he has made for himself; he begins to laugh. The moment does not erase his earlier fear or hardship, but it opens a different relation to the world: attention, care, and invention become possible alongside survival. By treating the animal as a living presence rather than a collectible object, the dive establishes the ethical and imaginative premise of Washington’s later work.