CHAPTER 9

Luckily, just before night, all four of us had lashed ourselves

firmly to the fragments of the windlass, lying in this manner as

flat upon the deck as possible. This precaution alone saved us

from destruction. As it was, we were all more or less stunned by

the immense weight of water which tumbled upon us, and which did

not roll from above us until we were nearly exhausted. As soon as

I could recover breath, I called aloud to my companions. Augustus

alone replied, saying: “It is all over with us, and may God have

mercy upon our souls!” By-and-by both the others were enabled to

speak, when they exhorted us to take courage, as there was still

hope; it being impossible, from the nature of the cargo, that the

brig could go down, and there being every chance that the gale

would blow over by the morning. These words inspired me with new

life; for, strange as it may seem, although it was obvious that a

vessel with a cargo of empty oil-casks would not sink, I had been

hitherto so confused in mind as to have overlooked this

consideration altogether; and the danger which I had for some

time regarded as the most imminent was that of foundering. As

hope revived within me, I made use of every opportunity to

strengthen the lashings which held me to the remains of the

windlass, and in this occupation I soon discovered that my

companions were also busy. The night was as dark as it could

possibly be, and the horrible shrieking din and confusion which

surrounded us it is useless to attempt describing. Our deck lay

level with the sea, or rather we were encircled with a towering

ridge of foam, a portion of which swept over us every instant. It

is not too much to say that our heads were not fairly out of the

water more than one second in three. Although we lay close

together, no one of us could see the other, or, indeed, any

portion of the brig itself, upon which we were so tempestuously

hurled about. At intervals we called one to the other, thus

endeavouring to keep alive hope, and render consolation and

encouragement to such of us as stood most in need of it. The

feeble condition of Augustus made him an object of solicitude

with us all; and as, from the lacerated condition of his right

arm, it must have been impossible for him to secure his lashings

with any degree of firmness, we were in momentary expectation of

finding that he had gone overboard—yet to render him aid was a

thing altogether out of the question. Fortunately, his station

was more secure than that of any of the rest of us; for the upper

part of his body lying just beneath a portion of the shattered

windlass, the seas, as they tumbled in upon him, were greatly

broken in their violence. In any other situation than this (into

which he had been accidentally thrown after having lashed himself

in a very exposed spot) he must inevitably have perished before

morning. Owing to the brig’s lying so much along, we were all

less liable to be washed off than otherwise would have been the

case. The heel, as I have before stated, was to larboard, about

one half of the deck being constantly under water. The seas,

therefore, which struck us to starboard were much broken, by the

vessel’s side, only reaching us in fragments as we lay flat on

our faces; while those which came from larboard being what are

called back-water seas, and obtaining little hold upon us on

account of our posture, had not sufficient force to drag us from

our fastenings.

In this frightful situation we lay until the day broke so as to

show us more fully the horrors which surrounded us. The brig was

a mere log, rolling about at the mercy of every wave; the gale

was upon the increase, if any thing, blowing indeed a complete

hurricane, and there appeared to us no earthly prospect of

deliverance. For several hours we held on in silence, expecting

every moment that our lashings would either give way, that the

remains of the windlass would go by the board, or that some of

the huge seas, which roared in every direction around us and

above us, would drive the hulk so far beneath the water that we

should be drowned before it could regain the surface. By the

mercy of God, however, we were preserved from these imminent

dangers, and about midday were cheered by the light of the

blessed sun. Shortly afterward we could perceive a sensible

diminution in the force of the wind, when, now for the first time

since the latter part of the evening before, Augustus spoke,

asking Peters, who lay closest to him, if he thought there was

any possibility of our being saved. As no reply was at first made

to this question, we all concluded that the hybrid had been

drowned where he lay; but presently, to our great joy, he spoke,

although very feebly, saying that he was in great pain, being so

cut by the tightness of his lashings across the stomach, that he

must either find means of loosening them or perish, as it was

impossible that he could endure his misery much longer. This

occasioned us great distress, as it was altogether useless to

think of aiding him in any manner while the sea continued washing

over us as it did. We exhorted him to bear his sufferings with

fortitude, and promised to seize the first opportunity which

should offer itself to relieve him. He replied that it would soon

be too late; that it would be all over with him before we could

help him; and then, after moaning for some minutes, lay silent,

when we concluded that he had perished.

As the evening drew on, the sea had fallen so much that scarcely

more than one wave broke over the hulk from windward in the

course of five minutes, and the wind had abated a great deal,

although still blowing a severe gale. I had not heard any of my

companions speak for hours, and now called to Augustus. He

replied, although very feebly, so that I could not distinguish

what he said. I then spoke to Peters and to Parker, neither of

whom returned any answer.

Shortly after this period I fell into a state of partial

insensibility, during which the most pleasing images floated in

my imagination; such as green trees, waving meadows of ripe

grain, processions of dancing girls, troops of cavalry, and other

phantasies. I now remember that, in all which passed before my

mind’s eye, motion was a predominant idea. Thus, I never fancied

any stationary object, such as a house, a mountain, or any thing

of that kind; but windmills, ships, large birds, balloons, people

on horseback, carriages driving furiously, and similar moving

objects, presented themselves in endless succession. When I

recovered from this state, the sun was, as near as I could guess,

an hour high. I had the greatest difficulty in bringing to

recollection the various circumstances connected with my

situation, and for some time remained firmly convinced that I was

still in the hold of the brig, near the box, and that the body of

Parker was that of Tiger.

When I at length completely came to my senses, I found that the

wind blew no more than a moderate breeze, and that the sea was

comparatively calm; so much so that it only washed over the brig

amidships. My left arm had broken loose from its lashings, and

was much cut about the elbow; my right was entirely benumbed, and

the hand and wrist swollen prodigiously by the pressure of the

rope, which had worked from the shoulder downward. I was also in

great pain from another rope which went about my waist, and had

been drawn to an insufferable degree of tightness. Looking round

upon my companions, I saw that Peters still lived, although a

thick line was pulled so forcibly around his loins as to give him

the appearance of being cut nearly in two; as I stirred, he made

a feeble motion to me with his hand, pointing to the rope.

Augustus gave no indication of life whatever, and was bent nearly

double across a splinter of the windlass. Parker spoke to me when

he saw me moving, and asked me if I had not sufficient strength

to release him from his situation, saying that if I would summon

up what spirits I could, and contrive to untie him, we might yet

save our lives; but that otherwise we must all perish. I told him

to take courage, and I would endeavor to free him. Feeling in my

pantaloons’ pocket, I got hold of my penknife, and, after several

ineffectual attempts, at length succeeded in opening it. I then,

with my left hand, managed to free my right from its fastenings,

and afterward cut the other ropes which held me. Upon attempting,

however, to move from my position, I found that my legs failed me

altogether, and that I could not get up; neither could I move my

right arm in any direction. Upon mentioning this to Parker, he

advised me to lie quiet for a few minutes, holding on to the

windlass with my left hand, so as to allow time for the blood to

circulate. Doing this, the numbness presently began to die away

so that I could move first one of my legs, and then the other,

and, shortly afterward I regained the partial use of my right

arm. I now crawled with great caution toward Parker, without

getting on my legs, and soon cut loose all the lashings about

him, when, after a short delay, he also recovered the partial use

of his limbs. We now lost no time in getting loose the rope from

Peters. It had cut a deep gash through the waistband of his

woollen pantaloons, and through two shirts, and made its way into

his groin, from which the blood flowed out copiously as we

removed the cordage. No sooner had we removed it, however, than

he spoke, and seemed to experience instant relief—being able to

move with much greater ease than either Parker or myself—this was

no doubt owing to the discharge of blood.

We had little hopes that Augustus would recover, as he evinced no

signs of life; but, upon getting to him, we discovered that he

had merely swooned from the loss of blood, the bandages we had

placed around his wounded arm having been torn off by the water;

none of the ropes which held him to the windlass were drawn

sufficiently tight to occasion his death. Having relieved him

from the fastenings, and got him clear of the broken wood about

the windlass, we secured him in a dry place to windward, with his

head somewhat lower than his body, and all three of us busied

ourselves in chafing his limbs. In about half an hour he came to

himself, although it was not until the next morning that he gave

signs of recognizing any of us, or had sufficient strength to

speak. By the time we had thus got clear of our lashings it was

quite dark, and it began to cloud up, so that we were again in

the greatest agony lest it should come on to blow hard, in which

event nothing could have saved us from perishing, exhausted as we

were. By good fortune it continued very moderate during the

night, the sea subsiding every minute, which gave us great hopes

of ultimate preservation. A gentle breeze still blew from the N.

W., but the weather was not at all cold. Augustus was lashed

carefully to windward in such a manner as to prevent him from

slipping overboard with the rolls of the vessel, as he was still

too weak to hold on at all. For ourselves there was no such

necessity. We sat close together, supporting each other with the

aid of the broken ropes about the windlass, and devising methods

of escape from our frightful situation. We derived much comfort

from taking off our clothes and wringing the water from them.

When we put them on after this, they felt remarkably warm and

pleasant, and served to invigorate us in no little degree. We

helped Augustus off with his, and wrung them for him, when he

experienced the same comfort.

Our chief sufferings were now those of hunger and thirst, and

when we looked forward to the means of relief in this respect,

our hearts sunk within us, and we were induced to regret that we

had escaped the less dreadful perils of the sea. We endeavoured,

however, to console ourselves with the hope of being speedily

picked up by some vessel and encouraged each other to bear with

fortitude the evils that might happen.

The morning of the fourteenth at length dawned, and the weather

still continued clear and pleasant, with a steady but very light

breeze from the N. W. The sea was now quite smooth, and as, from

some cause which we could not determine, the brig did not lie so

much along as she had done before, the deck was comparatively

dry, and we could move about with freedom. We had now been better

than three entire days and nights without either food or drink,

and it became absolutely necessary that we should make an attempt

to get up something from below. As the brig was completely full

of water, we went to this work despondently, and with but little

expectation of being able to obtain anything. We made a kind of

drag by driving some nails which we broke out from the remains of

the companion-hatch into two pieces of wood. Tying these across

each other, and fastening them to the end of a rope, we threw

them into the cabin, and dragged them to and fro, in the faint

hope of being thus able to entangle some article which might be

of use to us for food, or which might at least render us

assistance in getting it. We spent the greater part of the

morning in this labour without effect, fishing up nothing more

than a few bedclothes, which were readily caught by the nails.

Indeed, our contrivance was so very clumsy that any greater

success was hardly to be anticipated.

We now tried the forecastle, but equally in vain, and were upon

the brink of despair, when Peters proposed that we should fasten

a rope to his body, and let him make an attempt to get up

something by diving into the cabin. This proposition we hailed

with all the delight which reviving hope could inspire. He

proceeded immediately to strip off his clothes with the exception

of his pantaloons; and a strong rope was then carefully fastened

around his middle, being brought up over his shoulders in such a

manner that there was no possibility of its slipping. The

undertaking was one of great difficulty and danger; for, as we

could hardly expect to find much, if any, provision in the cabin

itself, it was necessary that the diver, after letting himself

down, should make a turn to the right, and proceed under water a

distance of ten or twelve feet, in a narrow passage, to the

storeroom, and return, without drawing breath.

Everything being ready, Peters now descended in the cabin, going

down the companion-ladder until the water reached his chin. He

then plunged in, head first, turning to the right as he plunged,

and endeavouring to make his way to the storeroom. In this first

attempt, however, he was altogether unsuccessful. In less than

half a minute after his going down we felt the rope jerked

violently (the signal we had agreed upon when he desired to be

drawn up). We accordingly drew him up instantly, but so

incautiously as to bruise him badly against the ladder. He had

brought nothing with him, and had been unable to penetrate more

than a very little way into the passage, owing to the constant

exertions he found it necessary to make in order to keep himself

from floating up against the deck. Upon getting out he was very

much exhausted, and had to rest full fifteen minutes before he

could again venture to descend.

The second attempt met with even worse success; for he remained

so long under water without giving the signal, that, becoming

alarmed for his safety, we drew him out without it, and found

that he was almost at the last gasp, having, as he said,

repeatedly jerked at the rope without our feeling it. This was

probably owing to a portion of it having become entangled in the

balustrade at the foot of the ladder. This balustrade was,

indeed, so much in the way, that we determined to remove it, if

possible, before proceeding with our design. As we had no means

of getting it away except by main force, we all descended into

the water as far as we could on the ladder, and giving a pull

against it with our united strength, succeeded in breaking it

down.

The third attempt was equally unsuccessful with the two first,

and it now became evident that nothing could be done in this

manner without the aid of some weight with which the diver might

steady himself, and keep to the floor of the cabin while making

his search. For a long time we looked about in vain for something

which might answer this purpose; but at length, to our great joy,

we discovered one of the weather-forechains so loose that we had

not the least difficulty in wrenching it off. Having fastened

this securely to one of his ankles, Peters now made his fourth

descent into the cabin, and this time succeeded in making his way

to the door of the steward’s room. To his inexpressible grief,

however, he found it locked, and was obliged to return without

effecting an entrance, as, with the greatest exertion, he could

remain under water not more, at the utmost extent, than a single

minute. Our affairs now looked gloomy indeed, and neither

Augustus nor myself could refrain from bursting into tears, as we

thought of the host of difficulties which encompassed us, and the

slight probability which existed of our finally making an escape.

But this weakness was not of long duration. Throwing ourselves on

our knees to God, we implored His aid in the many dangers which

beset us; and arose with renewed hope and vigor to think what

could yet be done by mortal means toward accomplishing our

deliverance.