Chapter 13

July 24. This morning saw us wonderfully recruited in spirits and
strength. Notwithstanding the perilous situation in which we were
still placed, ignorant of our position, although certainly at a
great distance from land, without more food than would last us
for a fortnight even with great care, almost entirely without
water, and floating about at the mercy of every wind and wave on
the merest wreck in the world, still the infinitely more terrible
distresses and dangers from which we had so lately and so
providentially been delivered caused us to regard what we now
endured as but little more than an ordinary evil—so strictly
comparative is either good or ill.

At sunrise we were preparing to renew our attempts at getting up
something from the storeroom, when, a smart shower coming on,
with some lightning, we turn our attention to the catching of
water by means of the sheet we had used before for this purpose.
We had no other means of collecting the rain than by holding the
sheet spread out with one of the forechain-plates in the middle
of it. The water, thus conducted to the centre, was drained
through into our jug. We had nearly filled it in this manner,
when, a heavy squall coming on from the northward, obliged us to
desist, as the hulk began once more to roll so violently that we
could no longer keep our feet. We now went forward, and, lashing
ourselves securely to the remnant of the windlass as before,
awaited the event with far more calmness than could have been
anticipated or would have been imagined possible under the
circumstances. At noon the wind had freshened into a two-reef
breeze, and by night into a stiff gale, accompanied with a
tremendously heavy swell. Experience having taught us, however,
the best method of arranging our lashings, we weathered this
dreary night in tolerable security, although thoroughly drenched
at almost every instant by the sea, and in momentary dread of
being washed off. Fortunately, the weather was so warm as to
render the water rather grateful than otherwise.

July 25. This morning the gale had diminished to a mere ten-knot
breeze, and the sea had gone down with it so considerably that we
were able to keep ourselves dry upon the deck. To our great
grief, however, we found that two jars of our olives, as well as
the whole of our ham, had been washed overboard, in spite of the
careful manner in which they had been fastened. We determined not
to kill the tortoise as yet, and contented ourselves for the
present with a breakfast on a few of the olives, and a measure of
water each, which latter we mixed half and half, with wine,
finding great relief and strength from the mixture, without the
distressing intoxication which had ensued upon drinking the port.
The sea was still far too rough for the renewal of our efforts at
getting up provision from the storeroom. Several articles, of no
importance to us in our present situation, floated up through the
opening during the day, and were immediately washed overboard. We
also now observed that the hulk lay more along than ever, so that
we could not stand an instant without lashing ourselves. On this
account we passed a gloomy and uncomfortable day. At noon the sun
appeared to be nearly vertical, and we had no doubt that we had
been driven down by the long succession of northward and
northwesterly winds into the near vicinity of the equator. Toward
evening we saw several sharks, and were somewhat alarmed by the
audacious manner in which an enormously large one approached us.
At one time, a lurch throwing the deck very far beneath the
water, the monster actually swam in upon us, floundering for some
moments just over the companion-hatch, and striking Peters
violently with his tail. A heavy sea at length hurled him
overboard, much to our relief. In moderate weather we might have
easily captured him.

July 26. This morning, the wind having greatly abated, and the
sea not being very rough, we determined to renew our exertions in
the storeroom. After a great deal of hard labor during the whole
day, we found that nothing further was to be expected from this
quarter, the partitions of the room having been stove during the
night, and its contents swept into the hold. This discovery, as
may be supposed, filled us with despair.

July 27. The sea nearly smooth, with a light wind, and still from
the northward and westward. The sun coming out hotly in the
afternoon, we occupied ourselves in drying our clothes. Found
great relief from thirst, and much comfort otherwise, by bathing
in the sea; in this, however, we were forced to use great
caution, being afraid of sharks, several of which were seen
swimming around the brig during the day.

July 28. Good weather still. The brig now began to lie along so
alarmingly that we feared she would eventually roll bottom up.
Prepared ourselves as well as we could for this emergency,
lashing our tortoise, waterjug, and two remaining jars of olives
as far as possible over to the windward, placing them outside the
hull below the main-chains. The sea very smooth all day, with
little or no wind.

July 29. A continuance of the same weather. Augustus’s wounded
arm began to evince symptoms of mortification. He complained of
drowsiness and excessive thirst, but no acute pain. Nothing could
be done for his relief beyond rubbing his wounds with a little of
the vinegar from the olives, and from this no benefit seemed to
be experienced. We did every thing in our power for his comfort,
and trebled his allowance of water.

July 30. An excessively hot day, with no wind. An enormous shark
kept close by the hulk during the whole of the forenoon. We made
several unsuccessful attempts to capture him by means of a noose.
Augustus much worse, and evidently sinking as much from want of
proper nourishment as from the effect of his wounds. He
constantly prayed to be relieved from his sufferings, wishing for
nothing but death. This evening we ate the last of our olives,
and found the water in our jug so putrid that we could not
swallow it at all without the addition of wine. Determined to
kill our tortoise in the morning.

July 31. After a night of excessive anxiety and fatigue, owing to
the position of the hulk, we set about killing and cutting up our
tortoise. He proved to be much smaller than we had supposed,
although in good condition,—the whole meat about him not
amounting to more than ten pounds. With a view of preserving a
portion of this as long as possible, we cut it into fine pieces,
and filled with them our three remaining olive jars and the
wine-bottle (all of which had been kept), pouring in afterward
the vinegar from the olives. In this manner we put away about
three pounds of the tortoise, intending not to touch it until we
had consumed the rest. We concluded to restrict ourselves to
about four ounces of the meat per day; the whole would thus last
us thirteen days. A brisk shower, with severe thunder and
lightning, came on about dusk, but lasted so short a time that we
only succeeded in catching about half a pint of water. The whole
of this, by common consent, was given to Augustus, who now
appeared to be in the last extremity. He drank the water from the
sheet as we caught it (we holding it above him as he lay so as to
let it run into his mouth), for we had now nothing left capable
of holding water, unless we had chosen to empty out our wine from
the carboy, or the stale water from the jug. Either of these
expedients would have been resorted to had the shower lasted.

The sufferer seemed to derive but little benefit from the
draught. His arm was completely black from the wrist to the
shoulder, and his feet were like ice. We expected every moment to
see him breathe his last. He was frightfully emaciated; so much
so that, although he weighed a hundred and twenty-seven pounds
upon his leaving Nantucket, he now did not weigh more than forty
or fifty at the farthest. His eyes were sunk far in his head,
being scarcely perceptible, and the skin of his cheeks hung so
loosely as to prevent his masticating any food, or even
swallowing any liquid, without great difficulty.

August 1. A continuance of the same calm weather, with an
oppressively hot sun. Suffered exceedingly from thirst, the water
in the jug being absolutely putrid and swarming with vermin. We
contrived, nevertheless, to swallow a portion of it by mixing it
with wine; our thirst, however, was but little abated. We found
more relief by bathing in the sea, but could not avail ourselves
of this expedient except at long intervals, on account of the
continual presence of sharks. We now saw clearly that Augustus
could not be saved; that he was evidently dying. We could do
nothing to relieve his sufferings, which appeared to be great.
About twelve o’clock he expired in strong convulsions, and
without having spoken for several hours. His death filled us with
the most gloomy forebodings, and had so great an effect upon our
spirits that we sat motionless by the corpse during the whole
day, and never addressed each other except in a whisper. It was
not until some time after dark that we took courage to get up and
throw the body overboard. It was then loathsome beyond
expression, and so far decayed that, as Peters attempted to lift
it, an entire leg came off in his grasp. As the mass of
putrefaction slipped over the vessel’s side into the water, the
glare of phosphoric light with which it was surrounded plainly
discovered to us seven or eight large sharks, the clashing of
whose horrible teeth, as their prey was torn to pieces among
them, might have been heard at the distance of a mile. We shrunk
within ourselves in the extremity of horror at the sound.

August 2. The same fearfully calm and hot weather. The dawn found
us in a state of pitiable dejection as well as bodily exhaustion.
The water in the jug was now absolutely useless, being a thick
gelatinous mass; nothing but frightful-looking worms mingled with
slime. We threw it out, and washed the jug well in the sea,
afterward pouring a little vinegar in it from our bottles of
pickled tortoise. Our thirst could now scarcely be endured, and
we tried in vain to relieve it by wine, which seemed only to add
fuel to the flame, and excited us to a high degree of
intoxication. We afterward endeavoured to relieve our sufferings
by mixing the wine with seawater; but this instantly brought
about the most violent retchings, so that we never again
attempted it. During the whole day we anxiously sought an
opportunity of bathing, but to no purpose; for the hulk was now
entirely besieged on all sides with sharks—no doubt the identical
monsters who had devoured our poor companion on the evening
before, and who were in momentary expectation of another similar
feast. This circumstance occasioned us the most bitter regret and
filled us with the most depressing and melancholy forebodings. We
had experienced indescribable relief in bathing, and to have this
resource cut off in so frightful a manner was more than we could
bear. Nor, indeed, were we altogether free from the apprehension
of immediate danger, for the least slip or false movement would
have thrown us at once within reach of those voracious fish, who
frequently thrust themselves directly upon us, swimming up to
leeward. No shouts or exertions on our part seemed to alarm them.
Even when one of the largest was struck with an axe by Peters and
much wounded, he persisted in his attempts to push in where we
were. A cloud came up at dusk, but, to our extreme anguish,
passed over without discharging itself. It is quite impossible to
conceive our sufferings from thirst at this period. We passed a
sleepless night, both on this account and through dread of the
sharks.

August 3. No prospect of relief, and the brig lying still more
and more along, so that now we could not maintain a footing upon
deck at all. Busied ourselves in securing our wine and
tortoise-meat, so that we might not lose them in the event of our
rolling over. Got out two stout spikes from the forechains, and,
by means of the axe, drove them into the hull to windward within
a couple of feet of the water, this not being very far from the
keel, as we were nearly upon our beam-ends. To these spikes we
now lashed our provisions, as being more secure than their former
position beneath the chains. Suffered great agony from thirst
during the whole day—no chance of bathing on account of the
sharks, which never left us for a moment. Found it impossible to
sleep.

August 4. A little before daybreak we perceived that the hulk was
heeling over, and aroused ourselves to prevent being thrown off
by the movement. At first the roll was slow and gradual, and we
contrived to clamber over to windward very well, having taken the
precaution to leave ropes hanging from the spikes we had driven
in for the provision. But we had not calculated sufficiently upon
the acceleration of the impetus; for, presently the heel became
too violent to allow of our keeping pace with it; and, before
either of us knew what was to happen, we found ourselves hurled
furiously into the sea, and struggling several fathoms beneath
the surface, with the huge hull immediately above us.

In going under the water I had been obliged to let go my hold
upon the rope; and finding that I was completely beneath the
vessel, and my strength nearly exhausted, I scarcely made a
struggle for life, and resigned myself, in a few seconds, to die.
But here again I was deceived, not having taken into
consideration the natural rebound of the hull to windward. The
whirl of the water upward, which the vessel occasioned in rolling
partially back, brought me to the surface still more violently
than I had been plunged beneath. Upon coming up I found myself
about twenty yards from the hulk, as near as I could judge. She
was lying keel up, rocking furiously from side to side, and the
sea in all directions around was much agitated, and full of
strong whirlpools. I could see nothing of Peters. An oil-cask was
floating within a few feet of me, and various other articles from
the brig were scattered about.

My principal terror was now on account of the sharks, which I
knew to be in my vicinity. In order to deter these, if possible,
from approaching me, I splashed the water vigorously with both
hands and feet as I swam towards the hulk, creating a body of
foam. I have no doubt that to this expedient, simple as it was, I
was indebted for my preservation; for the sea all round the brig,
just before her rolling over, was so crowded with these monsters,
that I must have been, and really was, in actual contact with
some of them during my progress. By great good fortune, however,
I reached the side of the vessel in safety, although so utterly
weakened by the violent exertion I had used that I should never
have been able to get upon it but for the timely assistance of
Peters, who, now, to my great joy, made his appearance (having
scrambled up to the keel from the opposite side of the hull), and
threw me the end of a rope—one of those which had been attached
to the spikes.

Having barely escaped this danger, our attention was now directed
to the dreadful imminency of another—that of absolute starvation.
Our whole stock of provision had been swept overboard in spite of
all our care in securing it; and seeing no longer the remotest
possibility of obtaining more, we gave way both of us to despair,
weeping aloud like children, and neither of us attempting to
offer consolation to the other. Such weakness can scarcely be
conceived, and to those who have never been similarly situated
will, no doubt, appear unnatural; but it must be remembered that
our intellects were so entirely disordered by the long course of
privation and terror to which we had been subjected, that we
could not justly be considered, at that period, in the light of
rational beings. In subsequent perils, nearly as great, if not
greater, I bore up with fortitude against all the evils of my
situation, and Peters, it will be seen, evinced a stoical
philosophy nearly as incredible as his present childlike
supineness and imbecility—the mental condition made the
difference.

The overturning of the brig, even with the consequent loss of the
wine and turtle, would not, in fact, have rendered our situation
more deplorable than before, except for the disappearance of the
bedclothes by which we had been hitherto enabled to catch
rainwater, and of the jug in which we had kept it when caught;
for we found the whole bottom, from within two or three feet of
the bends as far as the keel, together with the keel itself,
thickly covered with large barnacles, which proved to be
excellent and highly nutritious food. Thus, in two important
respects, the accident we had so greatly dreaded proved to be a
benefit rather than an injury; it had opened to us a supply of
provisions which we could not have exhausted, using it
moderately, in a month; and it had greatly contributed to our
comfort as regards position, we being much more at ease, and in
infinitely less danger, than before.

The difficulty, however, of now obtaining water blinded us to all
the benefits of the change in our condition. That we might be
ready to avail ourselves, as far as possible, of any shower which
might fall we took off our shirts, to make use of them as we had
of the sheets—not hoping, of course, to get more in this way,
even under the most favorable circumstances, than half a gill at
a time. No signs of a cloud appeared during the day, and the
agonies of our thirst were nearly intolerable. At night, Peters
obtained about an hour’s disturbed sleep, but my intense
sufferings would not permit me to close my eyes for a single
moment.

August 5. To-day, a gentle breeze springing up carried us through
a vast quantity of seaweed, among which we were so fortunate as
to find eleven small crabs, which afforded us several delicious
meals. Their shells being quite soft, we ate them entire, and
found that they irritated our thirst far less than the barnacles.
Seeing no trace of sharks among the seaweed, we also ventured to
bathe, and remained in the water for four or five hours, during
which we experienced a very sensible diminution of our thirst.
Were greatly refreshed, and spent the night somewhat more
comfortably than before, both of us snatching a little sleep.

August 6. This day we were blessed by a brisk and continual rain,
lasting from about noon until after dark. Bitterly did we now
regret the loss of our jug and carboy; for, in spite of the
little means we had of catching the water, we might have filled
one, if not both of them. As it was, we contrived to satisfy the
cravings of thirst by suffering the shirts to become saturated,
and then wringing them so as to let the grateful fluid trickle
into our mouths. In this occupation we passed the entire day.

August 7. Just at daybreak we both at the same instant descried a
sail to the eastward, and _evidently coming towards us!_ We
hailed the glorious sight with a long, although feeble shout of
rapture; and began instantly to make every signal in our power,
by flaring the shirts in the air, leaping as high as our weak
condition would permit, and even by hallooing with all the
strength of our lungs, although the vessel could not have been
less than fifteen miles distant. However, she still continued to
near our hulk, and we felt that, if she but held her present
course, she must eventually come so close as to perceive us. In
about an hour after we first discovered her, we could clearly see
the people on her decks. She was a long, low, and rakish-looking
topsail schooner, with a black ball in her foretopsail, and had,
apparently, a full crew. We now became alarmed, for we could
hardly imagine it possible that she did not observe us, and were
apprehensive that she meant to leave us to perish as we were—an
act of fiendish barbarity, which, however incredible it may
appear, has been repeatedly perpetuated at sea, under
circumstances very nearly similar, and by beings who were
regarded as belonging to the human species. {*2} In this
instance, however, by the mercy of God, we were destined to be
most happily deceived; for, presently we were aware of a sudden
commotion on the deck of the stranger, who immediately afterward
ran up a British flag, and, hauling her wind, bore up directly
upon us. In half an hour more we found ourselves in her cabin.
She proved to be the Jane Guy, of Liverpool, Captain Guy, bound
on a sealing and trading voyage to the South Seas and Pacific.