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.