THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM.
OF NANTUCKET.
COMPRISING THE DETAILS OF A MUTINY AND ATROCIOUS BUTCHERY ON BOARD THE
AMERICAN BRIG GRAMPUS, ON HER WAY TO THE SOUTH SEAS, IN THE MONTH OF
JUNE, 1827.
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECAPTURE OF THE VESSEL BY THE SURVIVERS; THEIR
SHIPWRECK AND SUBSEQUENT HORRIBLE SUFFERINGS FROM FAMINE; THEIR
DELIVERANCE BY MEANS OF THE BRITISH SCHOONER JANE GUY; THE BRIEF CRUISE
OF THIS LATTER VESSEL IN THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN; HER CAPTURE, AND THE
MASSACRE OF HER CREW AMONG A GROUP OF ISLANDS IN THE EIGHTY-FOURTH
PARALLEL OF SOUTHERN LATITUDE; TOGETHER WITH THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES
AND DISCOVERIES STILL FARTHER SOUTH TO WHICH THAT DISTRESSING CALAMITY
GAVE RISE.
NEW-YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-ST.
1838.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York.
PREFACE.
Upon my return to the United States a few months ago, after the
extraordinary series of adventure in the South Seas and elsewhere, of
which an account is given in the following pages, accident threw me
into the society of several gentlemen in Richmond, Va., who felt deep
interest in all matters relating to the regions I had visited, and who
were constantly urging it upon me, as a duty, to give my narrative to
the public. I had several reasons, however, for declining to do so,
some of which were of a nature altogether private, and concern no
person but myself; others not so much so. One consideration which
deterred me was, that, having kept no journal during a greater portion
of the time in which I was absent, I feared I should not be able to
write, from mere memory, a statement so minute and connected as to have
the _appearance_ of that truth it would really possess, barring only
the natural and unavoidable exaggeration to which all of us are prone
when detailing events which have had powerful influence in exciting the
imaginative faculties. Another reason was, that the incidents to be
narrated were of a nature so positively marvellous, that, unsupported
as my assertions must necessarily be (except by the evidence of a
single individual, and he a half-breed Indian), I could only hope for
belief among my family, and those of my friends who have had reason,
through life, to put faith in my veracity--the probability being that
the public at large would regard what I should put forth as merely an
impudent and ingenious fiction. A distrust in my own abilities as a
writer was, nevertheless, one of the principal causes which prevented
me from complying with the suggestions of my advisers.
Among those gentlemen in Virginia who expressed the greatest interest
in my statement, more particularly in regard to that portion of it
which related to the Antarctic Ocean, was Mr. Poe, lately editor of the
Southern Literary Messenger, a monthly magazine, published by Mr.
Thomas W. White, in the city of Richmond. He strongly advised me, among
others, to prepare at once a full account of what I had seen and
undergone, and trust to the shrewdness and common sense of the
public--insisting, with great plausibility, that however roughly, as
regards mere authorship, my book should be got up, its very
uncouthness, if there were any, would give it all the better chance of
being received as truth.
Notwithstanding this representation, I did not make up my mind to do as
he suggested. He afterward proposed (finding that I would not stir in
the matter) that I should allow him to draw up, in his own words, a
narrative of the earlier portion of my adventures, from facts afforded
by myself, publishing it in the Southern Messenger _under the garb of
fiction_. To this, perceiving no objection, I consented, stipulating
only that my real name should be retained. Two numbers of the pretended
fiction appeared, consequently, in the Messenger for January and
February (1837), and, in order that it might certainly be regarded as
fiction, the name of Mr. Poe was affixed to the articles in the table
of contents of the magazine.
The manner in which this _ruse_ was received has induced me at length
to undertake a regular compilation and publication of the adventures in
question; for I found that, in spite of the air of fable which had been
so ingeniously thrown around that portion of my statement which
appeared in the Messenger (without altering or distorting a single
fact), the public were still not at all disposed to receive it as
fable, and several letters were sent to Mr. P.'s address distinctly
expressing a conviction to the contrary. I thence concluded that the
facts of my narrative would prove of such a nature as to carry with
them sufficient evidence of their own authenticity, and that I had
consequently little to fear on the score of popular incredulity.
This _exposé_ being made, it will be seen at once how much of what
follows I claim to be my own writing; and it will also be understood
that no fact is misrepresented in the first few pages which were
written by Mr. Poe. Even to those readers who have not seen the
Messenger, it will be unnecessary to point out where his portion ends
and my own commences; the difference in point of style will be readily
perceived.
A. G. PYM.
New-York, July, 1838.
NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM.
My name is Arthur Gordon Pym. My father was a respectable trader in
sea-stores at Nantucket, where I was born. My maternal grandfather was
an attorney in good practice. He was fortunate in everything, and had
speculated very successfully in stocks of the Edgarton New-Bank, as it
was formerly called. By these and other means he had managed to lay by
a tolerable sum of money. He was more attached to myself, I believe,
than to any other person in the world, and I expected to inherit the
most of his property at his death. He sent me, at six years of age, to
the school of old Mr. Ricketts, a gentleman with only one arm, and of
eccentric manners--he is well known to almost every person who has
visited New Bedford. I stayed at his school until I was sixteen, when I
left him for Mr. E. Ronald's academy on the hill. Here I became
intimate with the son of Mr. Barnard, a sea captain, who generally
sailed in the employ of Lloyd and Vredenburgh--Mr. Barnard is also very
well known in New Bedford, and has many relations, I am certain, in
Edgarton. His son was named Augustus, and he was nearly two years older
than myself. He had been on a whaling voyage with his father in the
John Donaldson, and was always talking to me of his adventures in the
South Pacific Ocean. I used frequently to go home with him, and remain
all day, and sometimes all night. We occupied the same bed, and he
would be sure to keep me awake until almost light, telling me stories
of the natives of the Island of Tinian, and other places he had visited
in his travels. At last I could not help being interested in what he
said, and by degrees I felt the greatest desire to go to sea. I owned a
sail-boat called the Ariel, and worth about seventy-five dollars. She
had a half-deck or cuddy, and was rigged sloop-fashion--I forget her
tonnage, but she would hold ten persons without much crowding. In this
boat we were in the habit of going on some of the maddest freaks in the
world; and, when I now think of them, it appears to me a thousand
wonders that I am alive to-day.
I will relate one of these adventures by way of introduction to a
longer and more momentous narrative. One night there was a party at Mr.
Barnard's, and both Augustus and myself were not a little intoxicated
towards the close of it. As usual, in such cases, I took part of his
bed in preference to going home. He went to sleep, as I thought, very
quietly (it being near one when the party broke up), and without saying
a word on his favourite topic. It might have been half an hour from the
time of our getting in bed, and I was just about falling into a doze,
when he suddenly started up, and swore with a terrible oath that he
would not go to sleep for any Arthur Pym in Christendom, when there was
so glorious a breeze from the southwest. I never was so astonished in
my life, not knowing what he intended, and thinking that the wines and
liquors he had drunk had set him entirely beside himself. He proceeded
to talk very coolly, however, saying he knew that I supposed him
intoxicated, but that he was never more sober in his life. He was only
tired, he added, of lying in bed on such a fine night like a dog, and
was determined to get up and dress, and go out on a frolic with the
boat. I can hardly tell what possessed me, but the words were no sooner
out of his mouth than I felt a thrill of the greatest excitement and
pleasure, and thought his mad idea one of the most delightful and most
reasonable things in the world. It was blowing almost a gale, and the
weather was very cold--it being late in October. I sprang out of bed,
nevertheless, in a kind of ecstasy, and told him I was quite as brave
as himself, and quite as tired as he was of lying in bed like a dog,
and quite as ready for any fun or frolic as any Augustus Barnard in
Nantucket.
We lost no time in getting on our clothes and hurrying down to the
boat. She was lying at the old decayed wharf by the lumber-yard of
Pankey & Co., and almost thumping her sides out against the rough logs.
Augustus got into her and bailed her, for she was nearly half full of
water. This being done, we hoisted jib and mainsail, kept full, and
started boldly out to sea.
The wind, as I before said, blew freshly from the southwest. The night
was very clear and cold. Augustus had taken the helm, and I stationed
myself by the mast, on the deck of the cuddy. We flew along at a great
rate--neither of us having said a word since casting loose from the
wharf. I now asked my companion what course he intended to steer, and
what time he thought it probable we should get back. He whistled for a
few minutes, and then said crustily, "_I_ am going to sea--_you_ may go
home if you think proper." Turning my eyes upon him, I perceived at
once that, in spite of his assumed _nonchalance_, he was greatly
agitated. I could see him distinctly by the light of the moon--his face
was paler than any marble, and his hand shook so excessively that he
could scarcely retain hold of the tiller. I found that something had
gone wrong, and became seriously alarmed. At this period I knew little
about the management of a boat, and was now depending entirely upon the
nautical skill of my friend. The wind, too, had suddenly increased, as
we were fast getting out of the lee of the land--still I was ashamed to
betray any trepidation, and for almost half an hour maintained a
resolute silence. I could stand it no longer, however, and spoke to
Augustus about the propriety of turning back. As before, it was nearly
a minute before he made answer, or took any notice of my suggestion.
"By-and-by," said he at length--"time enough--home by-and-by." I had
expected a similar reply, but there was something in the tone of these
words which filled me with an indescribable feeling of dread. I again
looked at the speaker attentively. His lips were perfectly livid, and
his knees shook so violently together that he seemed scarcely able to
stand. "For God's sake, Augustus," I screamed, now heartily frightened,
"what ails you?--what is the matter?--what _are_ you going to do?"
"Matter!" he stammered, in the greatest apparent surprise, letting go
the tiller at the same moment, and falling forward into the bottom of
the boat--"matter!--why, nothing is the--matter--going
home--d--d--don't you see?" The whole truth now flashed upon me. I flew
to him and raised him up. He was drunk--beastly drunk--he could no
longer either stand, speak, or see. His eyes were perfectly glazed; and
as I let him go in the extremity of my despair, he rolled like a mere
log into the bilge-water from which I had lifted him. It was evident
that, during the evening, he had drunk far more than I suspected, and
that his conduct in bed had been the result of a highly-concentrated
state of intoxication--a state which, like madness, frequently enables
the victim to imitate the outward demeanour of one in perfect
possession of his senses. The coolness of the night air, however, had
had its usual effect--the mental energy began to yield before its
influence--and the confused perception which he no doubt then had of
his perilous situation had assisted in hastening the catastrophe. He
was now thoroughly insensible, and there was no probability that he
would be otherwise for many hours.
It is hardly possible to conceive the extremity of my terror. The fumes
of the wine lately taken had evaporated, leaving me doubly timid and
irresolute. I knew that I was altogether incapable of managing the
boat, and that a fierce wind and strong ebb tide were hurrying us to
destruction. A storm was evidently gathering behind us; we had neither
compass nor provisions; and it was clear that, if we held our present
course, we should be out of sight of land before daybreak. These
thoughts, with a crowd of others equally fearful, flashed through my
mind with a bewildering rapidity, and for some moments paralyzed me
beyond the possibility of making any exertion. The boat was going
through the water at a terrible rate--full before the wind--no reef in
either jib or mainsail--running her bows completely under the foam. It
was a thousand wonders she did not broach to--Augustus having let go
the tiller, as I said before, and I being too much agitated to think of
taking it myself. By good luck, however, she kept steady, and gradually
I recovered some degree of presence of mind. Still the wind was
increasing fearfully; and whenever we rose from a plunge forward, the
sea behind fell combing over our counter, and deluged us with water. I
was so utterly benumbed, too, in every limb, as to be nearly
unconscious of sensation. At length I summoned up the resolution of
despair, and rushing to the mainsail, let it go by the run. As might
have been expected, it flew over the bows, and, getting drenched with
water, carried away the mast short off by the board. This latter
accident alone saved me from instant destruction. Under the jib only, I
now boomed along before the wind, shipping heavy seas occasionally over
the counter, but relieved from the terror of immediate death. I took
the helm, and breathed with greater freedom as I found that there yet
remained to us a chance of ultimate escape. Augustus still lay
senseless in the bottom of the boat; and as there was imminent danger
of his drowning (the water being nearly a foot deep just where he
fell), I contrived to raise him partially up, and keep him in a sitting
position, by passing a rope round his waist, and lashing it to a
ringbolt in the deck of the cuddy. Having thus arranged everything as
well as I could in my chilled and agitated condition, I recommended
myself to God, and made up my mind to bear whatever might happen with
all the fortitude in my power.
Hardly had I come to this resolution, when, suddenly, a loud and long
scream or yell, as if from the throats of a thousand demons, seemed to
pervade the whole atmosphere around and above the boat. Never while I
live shall I forget the intense agony of terror I experienced at that
moment. My hair stood erect on my head--I felt the blood congealing in
my veins--my heart ceased utterly to beat, and without having once
raised my eyes to learn the source of my alarm, I tumbled headlong and
insensible upon the body of my fallen companion.
I found myself, upon reviving, in the cabin of a large whaling-ship
(the Penguin) bound to Nantucket. Several persons were standing over
me, and Augustus, paler than death, was busily occupied in chafing my
hands. Upon seeing me open my eyes, his exclamations of gratitude and
joy excited alternate laughter and tears from the rough-looking
personages who were present. The mystery of our being in existence was
now soon explained. We had been run down by the whaling-ship, which was
close hauled, beating up to Nantucket with every sail she could venture
to set, and consequently running almost at right angles to our own
course. Several men were on the look-out forward, but did not perceive
our boat until it was an impossibility to avoid coming in
contact--their shouts of warning upon seeing us were what so terribly
alarmed me. The huge ship, I was told, rode immediately over us with as
much ease as our own little vessel would have passed over a feather,
and without the least perceptible impediment to her progress. Not a
scream arose from the deck of the victim--there was a slight grating
sound to be heard mingling with the roar of wind and water, as the
frail bark which was swallowed up rubbed for a moment along the keel of
her destroyer--but this was all. Thinking our boat (which it will be
remembered was dismasted) some mere shell cut adrift as useless, the
captain (Captain E. T. V. Block of New London) was for proceeding on
his course without troubling himself further about the matter. Luckily,
there were two of the look-out who swore positively to having seen some
person at our helm, and represented the possibility of yet saving him.
A discussion ensued, when Block grew angry, and, after a while, said
that "it was no business of his to be eternally watching for
egg-shells; that the ship should _not_ put about for any such nonsense;
and if there was a man run down, it was nobody's fault but his own--he
might drown and be d----d," or some language to that effect. Henderson,
the first mate, now took the matter up, being justly indignant, as well
as the whole ship's crew, at a speech evincing so base a degree of
heartless atrocity. He spoke plainly, seeing himself upheld by the men,
told the captain he considered him a fit subject for the gallows, and
that he would disobey his orders if he were hanged for it the moment he
set his foot on shore. He strode aft, jostling Block (who turned very
pale and made no answer) on one side, and seizing the helm, gave the
word, in a firm voice, _Hard-a-lee!_ The men flew to their posts, and
the ship went cleverly about. All this had occupied nearly five
minutes, and it was supposed to be hardly within the bounds of
possibility that any individual could be saved--allowing any to have
been on board the boat. Yet, as the reader has seen, both Augustus and
myself were rescued; and our deliverance seemed to have been brought
about by two of those almost inconceivable pieces of good fortune which
are attributed by the wise and pious to the special interference of
Providence.
While the ship was yet in stays, the mate lowered the jolly-boat and
jumped into her with the very two men, I believe, who spoke up as
having seen me at the helm. They had just left the lee of the vessel
(the moon still shining brightly) when she made a long and heavy roll
to windward, and Henderson, at the same moment, starting up in his
seat, bawled out to his crew to _back water_. He would say nothing
else--repeating his cry impatiently, _back water! back water!_ The men
put back as speedily as possible; but by this time the ship had gone
round, and gotten fully under headway, although all hands on board were
making great exertions to take in sail. In despite of the danger of the
attempt, the mate clung to the main-chains as soon as they came within
his reach. Another huge lurch now brought the starboard side of the
vessel out of water nearly as far as her keel, when the cause of his
anxiety was rendered obvious enough. The body of a man was seen to be
affixed in the most singular manner to the smooth and shining bottom
(the Penguin was coppered and copper-fastened), and beating violently
against it with every movement of the hull. After several ineffectual
efforts, made during the lurches of the ship, and at the imminent risk
of swamping the boat, I was finally disengaged from my perilous
situation and taken on board--for the body proved to be my own. It
appeared that one of the timber-bolts having started and broken a
passage through the copper, it had arrested my progress as I passed
under the ship, and fastened me in so extraordinary a manner to her
bottom. The head of the bolt had made its way through the collar of the
green baize jacket I had on, and through the back part of my neck,
forcing itself out between two sinews and just below the right ear. I
was immediately put to bed--although life seemed to be totally extinct.
There was no surgeon on board. The captain, however, treated me with
every attention--to make amends, I presume, in the eyes of his crew,
for his atrocious behaviour in the previous portion of the adventure.
In the meantime, Henderson had again put off from the ship, although
the wind was now blowing almost a hurricane. He had not been gone many
minutes when he fell in with some fragments of our boat, and shortly
afterward one of the men with him asserted that he could distinguish a
cry for help at intervals amid the roaring of the tempest. This induced
the hardy seamen to persevere in their search for more than half an
hour, although repeated signals to return were made them by Captain
Block, and although every moment on the water in so frail a boat was
fraught to them with the most imminent and deadly peril. Indeed, it is
nearly impossible to conceive how the small jolly they were in could
have escaped destruction for a single instant. She was built, however,
for the whaling service, and was fitted, as I have since had reason to
believe, with air-boxes, in the manner of some life-boats used on the
coast of Wales.
After searching in vain for about the period of time just mentioned, it
was determined to get back to the ship. They had scarcely made this
resolve when a feeble cry arose from a dark object which floated
rapidly by. They pursued and soon overtook it. It proved to be the
entire deck of the Ariel's cuddy. Augustus was struggling near it,
apparently in the last agonies. Upon getting hold of him it was found
that he was attached by a rope to the floating timber. This rope, it
will be remembered, I had myself tied round his waist, and made fast to
a ringbolt, for the purpose of keeping him in an upright position, and
my so doing, it appeared, had been ultimately the means of preserving
his life. The Ariel was slightly put together, and in going down her
frame naturally went to pieces; the deck of the cuddy, as might be
expected, was lifted, by the force of the water rushing in, entirely
from the main timbers, and floated (with other fragments, no doubt) to
the surface--Augustus was buoyed up with it, and thus escaped a
terrible death.
It was more than an hour after being taken on board the Penguin before
he could give any account of himself, or be made to comprehend the
nature of the accident which had befallen our boat. At length he became
thoroughly aroused, and spoke much of his sensations while in the
water. Upon his first attaining any degree of consciousness, he found
himself beneath the surface, whirling round and round with
inconceivable rapidity, and with a rope wrapped in three or four folds
tightly about his neck. In an instant afterward he felt himself going
rapidly upward, when, his head striking violently against a hard
substance, he again relapsed into insensibility. Upon once more
reviving he was in fuller possession of his reason--this was still,
however, in the greatest degree clouded and confused. He now knew that
some accident had occurred, and that he was in the water, although his
mouth was above the surface, and he could breathe with some freedom.
Possibly, at this period, the deck was drifting rapidly before the
wind, and drawing him after it, as he floated upon his back. Of course,
as long as he could have retained this position, it would have been
nearly impossible that he should be drowned. Presently a surge threw
him directly athwart the deck; and this post he endeavoured to
maintain, screaming at intervals for help. Just before he was
discovered by Mr. Henderson, he had been obliged to relax his hold
through exhaustion, and, falling into the sea, had given himself up for
lost. During the whole period of his struggles he had not the faintest
recollection of the Ariel, nor of any matters in connexion with the
source of his disaster. A vague feeling of terror and despair had taken
entire possession of his faculties. When he was finally picked up,
every power of his mind had failed him; and, as before said, it was
nearly an hour after getting on board the Penguin before he became
fully aware of his condition. In regard to myself--I was resuscitated
from a state bordering very nearly upon death (and after every other
means had been tried in vain for three hours and a half) by vigorous
friction with flannels bathed in hot oil--a proceeding suggested by
Augustus. The wound in my neck, although of an ugly appearance, proved
of little real consequence, and I soon recovered from its effects.
The Penguin got into port about nine o'clock in the morning, after
encountering one of the severest gales ever experienced off Nantucket.
Both Augustus and myself managed to appear at Mr. Barnard's in time for
breakfast--which, luckily, was somewhat late, owing to the party over
night. I suppose all at the table were too much fatigued themselves to
notice our jaded appearance--of course, it would not have borne a very
rigid scrutiny. Schoolboys, however, can accomplish wonders in the way
of deception, and I verily believe not one of our friends in Nantucket
had the slightest suspicion that the terrible story told by some
sailors in town of their having run down a vessel at sea and drowned
some thirty or forty poor devils, had reference either to the Ariel, my
companion, or myself. We two have since very frequently talked the
matter over--but never without a shudder. In one of our conversations
Augustus frankly confessed to me, that in his whole life he had at no
time experienced so excruciating a sense of dismay, as when on board
our little boat he first discovered the extent of his intoxication, and
felt himself sinking beneath its influence.
CHAPTER II.
In no affairs of mere prejudice, pro or con, do we deduce inferences
with entire certainty even from the most simple data. It might be
supposed that a catastrophe such as I have just related would have
effectually cooled my incipient passion for the sea. On the contrary, I
never experienced a more ardent longing for the wild adventures
incident to the life of a navigator than within a week after our
miraculous deliverance. This short period proved amply long enough to
erase from my memory the shadows, and bring out in vivid light all the
pleasurably exciting points of colour, all the picturesqueness of the
late perilous accident. My conversations with Augustus grew daily more
frequent and more intensely full of interest. He had a manner of
relating his stories of the ocean (more than one half of which I now
suspect to have been sheer fabrications) well adapted to have weight
with one of my enthusiastic temperament, and somewhat gloomy, although
glowing imagination. It is strange, too, that he most strongly enlisted
my feelings in behalf of the life of a seaman, when he depicted his
more terrible moments of suffering and despair. For the bright side of
the painting I had a limited sympathy. My visions were of shipwreck and
famine; of death or captivity among barbarian hordes; of a lifetime
dragged out in sorrow and tears, upon some gray and desolate rock, in
an ocean unapproachable and unknown. Such visions or desires--for they
amounted to desires--are common, I have since been assured, to the
whole numerous race of the melancholy among men--at the time of which I
speak I regarded them only as prophetic glimpses of a destiny which I
felt myself in a measure bound to fulfil. Augustus thoroughly entered
into my state of mind. It is probable, indeed, that our intimate
communion had resulted in a partial interchange of character.
About eighteen months after the period of the Ariel's disaster, the
firm of Lloyd and Vredenburgh (a house connected in some manner with
the Messieurs Enderby, I believe, of Liverpool) were engaged in
repairing and fitting out the brig Grampus for a whaling voyage. She
was an old hulk, and scarcely seaworthy when all was done to her that
could be done. I hardly know why she was chosen in preference to other
good vessels belonging to the same owners--but so it was. Mr. Barnard
was appointed to command her, and Augustus was going with him. While
the brig was getting ready, he frequently urged upon me the excellency
of the opportunity now offered for indulging my desire of travel. He
found me by no means an unwilling listener--yet the matter could not be
so easily arranged. My father made no direct opposition; but my mother
went into hysterics at the bare mention of the design; and, more than
all, my grandfather, from whom I expected much, vowed to cut me off
with a shilling if I should ever broach the subject to him again. These
difficulties, however, so far from abating my desire, only added fuel
to the flame. I determined to go at all hazards; and, having made known
my intention to Augustus, we set about arranging a plan by which it
might be accomplished. In the meantime I forbore speaking to any of my
relations in regard to the voyage, and, as I busied myself ostensibly
with my usual studies, it was supposed that I had abandoned the design.
I have since frequently examined my conduct on this occasion with
sentiments of displeasure as well as of surprise. The intense hypocrisy
I made use of for the furtherance of my project--an hypocrisy pervading
every word and action of my life for so long a period of time--could
only have been rendered tolerable to myself by the wild and burning
expectation with which I looked forward to the fulfilment of my
long-cherished visions of travel.
In pursuance of my scheme of deception, I was necessarily obliged to
leave much to the management of Augustus, who was employed for the
greater part of every day on board the Grampus, attending to some
arrangements for his father in the cabin and cabin hold. At night,
however, we were sure to have a conference, and talk over our hopes.
After nearly a month passed in this manner, without our hitting upon
any plan we thought likely to succeed, he told me at last that he had
determined upon everything necessary. I had a relation living in New
Bedford, a Mr. Ross, at whose house I was in the habit of spending
occasionally two or three weeks at a time. The brig was to sail about
the middle of June (June, 1827), and it was agreed that, a day or two
before her putting to sea, my father was to receive a note, as usual,
from Mr. Ross, asking me to come over and spend a fortnight with Robert
and Emmet (his sons). Augustus charged himself with the enditing of
this note and getting it delivered. Having set out, as supposed, for
New Bedford, I was then to report myself to my companion, who would
contrive a hiding-place for me in the Grampus. This hiding-place, he
assured me, would be rendered sufficiently comfortable for a residence
of many days, during which I was not to make my appearance. When the
brig had proceeded so far on her course as to make any turning back a
matter out of question, I should then, he said, be formally installed
in all the comforts of the cabin; and as to his father, he would only
laugh heartily at the joke. Vessels enough would be met with by which a
letter might be sent home explaining the adventure to my parents.
The middle of June at length arrived, and everything had been matured.
The note was written and delivered, and on a Monday morning I left the
house for the New Bedford packet, as supposed. I went, however,
straight to Augustus, who was waiting for me at the corner of a street.
It had been our original plan that I should keep out of the way until
dark, and then slip on board the brig; but, as there was now a thick
fog in our favour, it was agreed to lose no time in secreting me.
Augustus led the way to the wharf, and I followed at a little distance,
enveloped in a thick seaman's cloak, which he had brought with him, so
that my person might not be easily recognised. Just as we turned the
second corner, after passing Mr. Edmund's well, who should appear,
standing right in front of me, and looking me full in the face, but old
Mr. Peterson, my grandfather. "Why, bless my soul, Gordon," said he,
after a long pause, "why, why--_whose_ dirty cloak is that you have
on?" "Sir!" I replied, assuming, as well as I could, in the exigency of
the moment, an air of offended surprise, and talking in the gruffest of
all imaginable tones--"sir! you are a sum'mat mistaken--my name, in the
first place, bee'nt nothing at all like Goddin, and I'd want you for to
know better, you blackguard, than to call my new obercoat a darty one!"
For my life I could hardly refrain from screaming with laughter at the
odd manner in which the old gentleman received this handsome rebuke. He
started back two or three steps, turned first pale and then excessively
red, threw up his spectacles, then, putting them down, ran full tilt at
me, with his umbrella uplifted. He stopped short, however, in his
career, as if struck with a sudden recollection; and presently, turning
round, hobbled off down the street, shaking all the while with rage,
and muttering between his teeth, "Won't do--new glasses--thought it was
Gordon--d----d good-for-nothing salt water Long Tom."
After this narrow escape we proceeded with greater caution, and arrived
at our point of destination in safety. There were only one or two of
the hands on board, and these were busy forward, doing something to the
forecastle combings. Captain Barnard, we knew very well, was engaged at
Lloyd and Vredenburgh's, and would remain there until late in the
evening, so we had little to apprehend on his account. Augustus went
first up the vessel's side, and in a short while I followed him,
without being noticed by the men at work. We proceeded at once into the
cabin, and found no person there. It was fitted up in the most
comfortable style--a thing somewhat unusual in a whaling-vessel. There
were four very excellent staterooms, with wide and convenient berths.
There was also a large stove, I took notice, and a remarkably thick and
valuable carpet covering the floor of both the cabin and staterooms.
The ceiling was full seven feet high, and, in short, everything
appeared of a more roomy and agreeable nature than I had anticipated.
Augustus, however, would allow me but little time for observation,
insisting upon the necessity of my concealing myself as soon as
possible. He led the way into his own stateroom, which was on the
starboard side of the brig, and next to the bulkheads. Upon entering,
he closed the door and bolted it. I thought I had never seen a nicer
little room than the one in which I now found myself. It was about ten
feet long, and had only one berth, which, as I said before, was wide
and convenient. In that portion of the closet nearest the bulkheads
there was a space of four feet square, containing a table, a chair, and
a set of hanging shelves full of books, chiefly books of voyages and
travels. There were many other little comforts in the room, among which
I ought not to forget a kind of safe or refrigerator, in which Augustus
pointed out to me a host of delicacies, both in the eating and drinking
department.
He now pressed with his knuckles upon a certain spot of the carpet in
one corner of the space just mentioned, letting me know that a portion
of the flooring, about sixteen inches square, had been neatly cut out
and again adjusted. As he pressed, this portion rose up at one end
sufficiently to allow the passage of his finger beneath. In this manner
he raised the mouth of the trap (to which the carpet was still fastened
by tacks), and I found that it led into the after hold. He next lit a
small taper by means of a phosphorus match, and, placing the light in a
dark lantern, descended with it through the opening, bidding me follow.
I did so, and he then pulled the cover upon the hole, by means of a
nail driven into the under side--the carpet, of course, resuming its
original position on the floor of the stateroom, and all traces of the
aperture being concealed.
The taper gave out so feeble a ray, that it was with the greatest
difficulty I could grope my way through the confused mass of lumber
among which I now found myself. By degrees, however, my eyes became
accustomed to the gloom, and I proceeded with less trouble, holding on
to the skirts of my friend's coat. He brought me, at length, after
creeping and winding through innumerable narrow passages, to an
iron-bound box, such as is used sometimes for packing fine earthenware.
It was nearly four feet high, and full six long, but very narrow. Two
large empty oil-casks lay on the top of it, and above these, again, a
vast quantity of straw matting, piled up as high as the floor of the
cabin. In every other direction around was wedged as closely as
possible, even up to the ceiling, a complete chaos of almost every
species of ship-furniture, together with a heterogeneous medley of
crates, hampers, barrels, and bales, so that it seemed a matter no less
than miraculous that we had discovered any passage at all to the box. I
afterward found that Augustus had purposely arranged the stowage in
this hold with a view to affording me a thorough concealment, having
had only one assistant in the labour, a man not going out in the brig.
My companion now showed me that one of the ends of the box could be
removed at pleasure. He slipped it aside and displayed the interior, at
which I was excessively amused. A mattress from one of the cabin berths
covered the whole of its bottom, and it contained almost every article
of mere comfort which could be crowded into so small a space, allowing
me, at the same time, sufficient room for my accommodation, either in a
sitting position or lying at full length. Among other things, there
were some books, pen, ink, and paper, three blankets, a large jug full
of water, a keg of sea-biscuit, three or four immense Bologna sausages,
an enormous ham, a cold leg of roast mutton, and half a dozen bottles
of cordials and liqueurs. I proceeded immediately to take possession of
my little apartment, and this with feelings of higher satisfaction, I
am sure, than any monarch ever experienced upon entering a new palace.
Augustus now pointed out to me the method of fastening the open end of
the box, and then, holding the taper close to the deck, showed me a
piece of dark whipcord lying along it. This, he said, extended from my
hiding-place throughout all the necessary windings among the lumber, to
a nail which was driven into the deck of the hold, immediately beneath
the trapdoor leading into his stateroom. By means of this cord I should
be enabled readily to trace my way out without his guidance, provided
any unlooked-for accident should render such a step necessary. He now
took his departure, leaving with me the lantern, together with a
copious supply of tapers and phosphorus, and promising to pay me a
visit as often as he could contrive to do so without observation. This
was on the seventeenth of June.
I remained three days and nights (as nearly as I could guess) in my
hiding-place without getting out of it at all, except twice for the
purpose of stretching my limbs by standing erect between two crates
just opposite the opening. During the whole period I saw nothing of
Augustus; but this occasioned me little uneasiness, as I knew the brig
was expected to put to sea every hour, and in the bustle he would not
easily find opportunities of coming down to me. At length I heard the
trap open and shut, and presently he called in a low voice, asking if
all was well, and if there was anything I wanted. "Nothing," I replied;
"I am as comfortable as can be; when will the brig sail?" "She will be
under weigh in less than half an hour," he answered. "I came to let you
know, and for fear you should be uneasy at my absence. I shall not have
a chance of coming down again for some time--perhaps for three or four
days more. All is going on right aboveboard. After I go up and close
the trap, do you creep along by the whipcord to where the nail is
driven in. You will find my watch there--it may be useful to you, as
you have no daylight to keep time by. I suppose you can't tell how long
you have been buried--only three days--this is the twentieth. I would
bring the watch to your box, but am afraid of being missed." With this
he went up.
In about an hour after he had gone I distinctly felt the brig in
motion, and congratulated myself upon having at length fairly commenced
a voyage. Satisfied with this idea, I determined to make my mind as
easy as possible, and await the course of events until I should be
permitted to exchange the box for the more roomy, although hardly more
comfortable, accommodations of the cabin. My first care was to get the
watch. Leaving the taper burning, I groped along in the dark, following
the cord through windings innumerable, in some of which I discovered
that, after toiling a long distance, I was brought back within a foot
or two of a former position. At length I reached the nail, and,
securing the object of my journey, returned with it in safety. I now
looked over the books which had been so thoughtfully provided, and
selected the expedition of Lewis and Clarke to the mouth of the
Columbia. With this I amused myself for some time, when, growing
sleepy, I extinguished the light with great care, and soon fell into a
sound slumber.
Upon awaking I felt strangely confused in mind, and some time elapsed
before I could bring to recollection all the various circumstances of
my situation. By degrees, however, I remembered all. Striking a light,
I looked at the watch; but it was run down, and there were,
consequently, no means of determining how long I had slept. My limbs
were greatly cramped, and I was forced to relieve them by standing
between the crates. Presently, feeling an almost ravenous appetite, I
bethought myself of the cold mutton, some of which I had eaten just
before going to sleep, and found excellent. What was my astonishment at
discovering it to be in a state of absolute putrefaction! This
circumstance occasioned me great disquietude; for, connecting it with
the disorder of mind I experienced upon awaking, I began to suppose
that I must have slept for an inordinately long period of time. The
close atmosphere of the hold might have had something to do with this,
and might, in the end, be productive of the most serious results. My
head ached excessively; I fancied that I drew every breath with
difficulty; and, in short, I was oppressed with a multitude of gloomy
feelings. Still I could not venture to make any disturbance by opening
the trap or otherwise, and, having wound up the watch, contented myself
as well as possible.
Throughout the whole of the next tedious twenty-four hours no person
came to my relief, and I could not help accusing Augustus of the
grossest inattention. What alarmed me chiefly was, that the water in my
jug was reduced to about half a pint, and I was suffering much from
thirst, having eaten freely of the Bologna sausages after the loss of
my mutton. I became very uneasy, and could no longer take any interest
in my books. I was overpowered, too, with a desire to sleep, yet
trembled at the thought of indulging it, lest there might exist some
pernicious influence, like that of burning charcoal, in the confined
air of the hold. In the mean time the roll of the brig told me that we
were far in the main ocean, and a dull humming sound, which reached my
ears as if from an immense distance, convinced me no ordinary gale was
blowing. I could not imagine a reason for the absence of Augustus. We
were surely far enough advanced on our voyage to allow of my going up.
Some accident might have happened to him--but I could think of none
which would account for his suffering me to remain so long a prisoner,
except, indeed, his having suddenly died or fallen overboard, and upon
this idea I could not dwell with any degree of patience. It was
possible that we had been baffled by head winds, and were still in the
near vicinity of Nantucket. This notion, however, I was forced to
abandon; for, such being the case, the brig must have frequently gone
about; and I was entirely satisfied, from her continual inclination to
the larboard, that she had been sailing all along with a steady breeze
on her starboard quarter. Besides, granting that we were still in the
neighbourhood of the island, why should not Augustus have visited me
and informed me of the circumstance? Pondering in this manner upon the
difficulties of my solitary and cheerless condition, I resolved to wait
yet another twenty-four hours, when, if no relief were obtained, I
would make my way to the trap, and endeavour either to hold a parley
with my friend, or get at least a little fresh air through the opening,
and a further supply of water from his stateroom. While occupied with
this thought, however, I fell, in spite of every exertion to the
contrary, into a state of profound sleep, or rather stupor. My dreams
were of the most terrific description. Every species of calamity and
horror befell me. Among other miseries, I was smothered to death
between huge pillows, by demons of the most ghastly and ferocious
aspect. Immense serpents held me in their embrace, and looked earnestly
in my face with their fearfully shining eyes. Then deserts, limitless,
and of the most forlorn and awe-inspiring character, spread themselves
out before me. Immensely tall trunks of trees, gray and leafless, rose
up in endless succession as far as the eye could reach. Their roots
were concealed in wide-spreading morasses, whose dreary water lay
intensely black, still, and altogether terrible, beneath. And the
strange trees seemed endowed with a human vitality, and, waving to and
fro their skeleton arms, were crying to the silent waters for mercy, in
the shrill and piercing accents of the most acute agony and despair.
The scene changed; and I stood, naked and alone, amid the burning
sand-plains of Zahara. At my feet lay crouched a fierce lion of the
tropics. Suddenly his wild eyes opened and fell upon me. With a
convulsive bound he sprang to his feet, and laid bare his horrible
teeth. In another instant there burst from his red throat a roar like
the thunder of the firmament, and I fell impetuously to the earth.
Stifling in a paroxysm of terror, I at last found myself partially
awake. My dream, then, was not all a dream. Now, at least, I was in
possession of my senses. The paws of some huge and real monster were
pressing heavily upon my bosom--his hot breath was in my ear--and his
white and ghastly fangs were gleaming upon me through the gloom.
Had a thousand lives hung upon the movement of a limb or the utterance
of a syllable, I could have neither stirred nor spoken. The beast,
whatever it was, retained his position without attempting any immediate
violence, while I lay in an utterly helpless, and, I fancied, a dying
condition beneath him. I felt that my powers of body and mind were fast
leaving me--in a word, that I was perishing, and perishing of sheer
fright. My brain swam--I grew deadly sick--my vision failed--even the
glaring eyeballs above me grew dim. Making a last strong effort, I at
length breathed a faint ejaculation to God, and resigned myself to die.
The sound of my voice seemed to arouse all the latent fury of the
animal. He precipitated himself at full length upon my body; but what
was my astonishment, when, with a long and low whine, he commenced
licking my face and hands with the greatest eagerness, and with the
most extravagant demonstrations of affection and joy! I was bewildered,
utterly lost in amazement--but I could not forget the peculiar whine of
my Newfoundland dog Tiger, and the odd manner of his caresses I well
knew. It was he. I experienced a sudden rush of blood to my temples--a
giddy and overpowering sense of deliverance and reanimation. I rose
hurriedly from the mattress upon which I had been lying, and, throwing
myself upon the neck of my faithful follower and friend, relieved the
long oppression of my bosom in a flood of the most passionate tears.
As upon a former occasion, my conceptions were in a state of the
greatest indistinctness and confusion after leaving the mattress. For a
long time I found it nearly impossible to connect any ideas--but, by
very slow degrees, my thinking faculties returned, and I again called
to memory the several incidents of my condition. For the presence of
Tiger I tried in vain to account; and after busying myself with a
thousand different conjectures respecting him, was forced to content
myself with rejoicing that he was with me to share my dreary solitude,
and render me comfort by his caresses. Most people love their dogs--but
for Tiger I had an affection far more ardent than common; and never,
certainly, did any creature more truly deserve it. For seven years he
had been my inseparable companion, and in a multitude of instances had
given evidence of all the noble qualities for which we value the
animal. I had rescued him, when a puppy, from the clutches of a
malignant little villain in Nantucket, who was leading him, with a rope
around his neck, to the water; and the grown dog repaid the obligation,
about three years afterward, by saving me from the bludgeon of a
street-robber.
Getting now hold of the watch, I found, upon applying it to my ear,
that it had again run down; but at this I was not at all surprised,
being convinced, from the peculiar state of my feelings, that I had
slept, as before, for a very long period of time; how long, it was of
course impossible to say. I was burning up with fever, and my thirst
was almost intolerable. I felt about the box for my little remaining
supply of water; for I had no light, the taper having burnt to the
socket of the lantern, and the phosphorus-box not coming readily to
hand. Upon finding the jug, however, I discovered it to be
empty--Tiger, no doubt, having been tempted to drink it, as well as to
devour the remnant of mutton, the bone of which lay, well picked, by
the opening of the box. The spoiled meat I could well spare, but my
heart sank as I thought of the water. I was feeble in the extreme--so
much so that I shook all over, as with an ague, at the slightest
movement or exertion. To add to my troubles, the brig was pitching and
rolling with great violence, and the oil-casks which lay upon my box
were in momentary danger of falling down, so as to block up the only
way of ingress or egress. I felt, also, terrible sufferings from
sea-sickness. These considerations determined me to make my way, at all
hazards, to the trap, and obtain immediate relief, before I should be
incapacitated from doing so altogether. Having come to this resolve, I
again felt about for the phosphorus-box and tapers. The former I found
after some little trouble; but, not discovering the tapers as soon as I
had expected (for I remembered very nearly the spot in which I had
placed them), I gave up the search for the present, and bidding Tiger
lie quiet, began at once my journey towards the trap.
In this attempt my great feebleness became more than ever apparent. It
was with the utmost difficulty I could crawl along at all, and very
frequently my limbs sank suddenly from beneath me; when, falling
prostrate on my face, I would remain for some minutes in a state
bordering on insensibility. Still I struggled forward by slow degrees,
dreading every moment that I should swoon amid the narrow and intricate
windings of the lumber, in which event I had nothing but death to
expect as the result. At length, upon making a push forward with all
the energy I could command, I struck my forehead violently against the
sharp corner of an iron-bound crate. The accident only stunned me for a
few moments; but I found, to my inexpressible grief, that the quick and
violent roll of the vessel had thrown the crate entirely across my
path, so as effectually to block up the passage. With my utmost
exertions I could not move it a single inch from its position, it being
closely wedged in among the surrounding boxes and ship-furniture. It
became necessary, therefore, enfeebled as I was, either to leave the
guidance of the whipcord and seek out a new passage, or to climb over
the obstacle, and resume the path on the other side. The former
alternative presented too many difficulties and dangers to be thought
of without a shudder. In my present weak state of both mind and body, I
should infallibly lose my way if I attempted it, and perish miserably
amid the dismal and disgusting labyrinths of the hold. I proceeded,
therefore, without hesitation, to summon up all my remaining strength
and fortitude, and endeavour, as I best might, to clamber over the
crate.
Upon standing erect, with this end in view, I found the undertaking
even a more serious task than my fears had led me to imagine. On each
side of the narrow passage arose a complete wall of various heavy
lumber, which the least blunder on my part might be the means of
bringing down upon my head; or, if this accident did not occur, the
path might be effectually blocked up against my return by the
descending mass, as it was in front by the obstacle there. The crate
itself was a long and unwieldy box, upon which no foothold could be
obtained. In vain I attempted, by every means in my power, to reach the
top, with the hope of being thus enabled to draw myself up. Had I
succeeded in reaching it, it is certain that my strength would have
proved utterly inadequate to the task of getting over, and it was
better in every respect that I failed. At length, in a desperate effort
to force the crate from its ground, I felt a strong vibration in the
side next me. I thrust my hand eagerly to the edge of the planks, and
found that a very large one was loose. With my pocket-knife, which
luckily I had with me, I succeeded, after great labour, in prying it
entirely off; and, getting through the aperture, discovered, to my
exceeding joy, that there were no boards on the opposite side--in other
words, that the top was wanting, it being the bottom through which I
had forced my way. I now met with no important difficulty in proceeding
along the line until I finally reached the nail. With a beating heart I
stood erect, and with a gentle touch pressed against the cover of the
trap. It did not rise as soon as I had expected, and I pressed it with
somewhat more determination, still dreading lest some other person than
Augustus might be in his stateroom. The door, however, to my
astonishment, remained steady, and I became somewhat uneasy, for I knew
that it had formerly required little or no effort to remove it. I
pushed it strongly--it was nevertheless firm: with all my strength--it
still did not give way: with rage, with fury, with despair--it set at
defiance my utmost efforts; and it was evident, from the unyielding
nature of the resistance, that the hole had either been discovered and
effectually nailed up, or that some immense weight had been placed upon
it, which it was useless to think of removing.
My sensations were those of extreme horror and dismay. In vain I
attempted to reason on the probable cause of my being thus entombed. I
could summon up no connected chain of reflection, and, sinking on the
floor, gave way, unresistingly, to the most gloomy imaginings, in which
the dreadful deaths of thirst, famine, suffocation, and premature
interment, crowded upon me as the prominent disasters to be
encountered. At length there returned to me some portion of presence of
mind. I arose, and felt with my fingers for the seams or cracks of the
aperture. Having found them, I examined them closely to ascertain if
they emitted any light from the stateroom; but none was visible. I then
forced the penblade of my knife through them, until I met with some
hard obstacle. Scraping against it, I discovered it to be a solid mass
of iron, which, from its peculiar wavy feel as I passed the blade along
it, I concluded to be a chain-cable. The only course now left me was to
retrace my way to the box, and there either yield to my sad fate, or
try so to tranquillize my mind as to admit of my arranging some plan of
escape. I immediately set about the attempt, and succeeded, after
innumerable difficulties, in getting back. As I sank, utterly
exhausted, upon the mattress, Tiger threw himself at full length by my
side, and seemed as if desirous, by his caresses, of consoling me in my
troubles, and urging me to bear them with fortitude.
The singularity of his behaviour at length forcibly arrested my
attention. After licking my face and hands for some minutes, he would
suddenly cease doing so, and utter a low whine. Upon reaching out my
hand towards him, I then invariably found him lying on his back, with
his paws uplifted. This conduct, so frequently repeated, appeared
strange, and I could in no manner account for it. As the dog seemed
distressed, I concluded that he had received some injury; and, taking
his paws in my hands, I examined them one by one, but found no sign of
any hurt. I then supposed him hungry, and gave him a large piece of
ham, which he devoured with avidity--afterward, however, resuming his
extraordinary manoeuvres. I now imagined that he was suffering, like
myself, the torments of thirst, and was about adopting this conclusion
as the true one, when the idea occurred to me that I had as yet only
examined his paws, and that there might possibly be a wound upon some
portion of his body or head. The latter I felt carefully over, but
found nothing. On passing my hand, however, along his back, I perceived
a slight erection of the hair extending completely across it. Probing
this with my finger, I discovered a string, and, tracing it up, found
that it encircled the whole body. Upon a closer scrutiny, I came across
a small slip of what had the feeling of letter paper, through which the
string had been fastened in such a manner as to bring it immediately
beneath the left shoulder of the animal.