As I viewed myself in a fragment of looking-glass which hung up in the
cabin, and by the dim light of a kind of battle-lantern, I was so
impressed with a sense of vague awe at my appearance, and at the
recollection of the terrific reality which I was thus representing,
that I was seized with a violent tremour, and could scarcely summon
resolution to go on with my part. It was necessary, however, to act
with decision, and Peters and myself went upon deck.
We there found everything safe, and, keeping close to the bulwarks, the
three of us crept to the cabin companion-way. It was only partially
closed, precautions having been taken to prevent its being suddenly
pushed to from without, by means of placing billets of wood on the
upper step so as to interfere with the shutting. We found no difficulty
in getting a full view of the interior of the cabin through the cracks
where the hinges were placed. It now proved to have been very fortunate
for us that we had not attempted to take them by surprise, for they
were evidently on the alert. Only one was asleep, and he lying just at
the foot of the companion-ladder, with a musket by his side. The rest
were seated on several mattresses, which had been taken from the berths
and thrown on the floor. They were engaged in earnest conversation; and
although they had been carousing, as appeared from two empty jugs, with
some tin tumblers which lay about, they were not as much intoxicated as
usual. All had knives, one or two of them pistols, and a great many
muskets were lying in a berth close at hand.
We listened to their conversation for some time before we could make up
our minds how to act, having as yet resolved on nothing determinate,
except that we would attempt to paralyze their exertions, when we
should attack them, by means of the apparition of Rogers. They were
discussing their piratical plans, in which all we could hear distinctly
was, that they would unite with the crew of a schooner Hornet, and, if
possible, get the schooner herself into their possession preparatory to
some attempt on a large scale, the particulars of which could not be
made out by either of us.
One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate replied to him in a low
voice which could not be distinguished, and afterward added more
loudly, that "he could not understand his being so much forward with
the captain's brat in the forecastle, and he thought the sooner both of
them were overboard the better." To this no answer was made, but we
could easily perceive that the hint was well received by the whole
party, and more particularly by Jones. At this period I was excessively
agitated, the more so as I could see that neither Augustus nor Peters
could determine how to act. I made up my mind, however, to sell my life
as dearly as possible, and not to suffer myself to be overcome by any
feelings of trepidation.
The tremendous noise made by the roaring of the wind in the rigging and
the washing of the sea over the deck prevented us from hearing what was
said except during momentary lulls. In one of these we all distinctly
heard the mate tell one of the men to "go forward, and order the d----d
lubbers to come into the cabin, where he could have an eye upon them,
for he wanted no such secret doings on board the brig." It was well for
us that the pitching of the vessel at this moment was so violent as to
prevent this order from being carried into instant execution. The cook
got up from his mattress to go for us, when a tremendous lurch, which I
thought would carry away the masts, threw him headlong against one of
the larboard stateroom doors, bursting it open, and creating a good
deal of other confusion. Luckily, neither of our party was thrown from
his position, and we had time to make a precipitate retreat to the
forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan of action before the messenger
made his appearance, or rather before he put his head out of the
companion-hatch, for he did not come on deck. From this station he
could not notice the absence of Allen, and he accordingly bawled out as
if to him, repeating the orders of the mate. Peters cried out, "Ay,
ay," in a disguised voice, and the cook immediately went below, without
entertaining a suspicion that all was not right.
My two companions now proceeded boldly aft and down into the cabin,
Peters closing the door after him in the same manner he had found it.
The mate received them with feigned cordiality, and told Augustus that,
since he had behaved himself so well of late, he might take up his
quarters in the cabin, and be one of them for the future. He then
poured him out a tumbler half full of rum, and made him drink it. All
this I saw and heard, for I followed my friends to the cabin as soon as
the door was shut, and took up my old point of observation. I had
brought with me the two pump-handles, one of which I secured near the
companion-way, to be ready for use when required.
I now steadied myself as well as possible so as to have a good view of
all that was passing within, and endeavoured to nerve myself to the
task of descending among the mutineers when Peters should make a signal
to me as agreed upon. Presently he contrived to turn the conversation
upon the bloody deeds of the mutiny, and, by degrees, led the men to
talk of the thousand superstitions which are so universally current
among seamen. I could not make out all that was said, but I could
plainly see the effects of the conversation in the countenances of
those present. The mate was evidently much agitated, and presently,
when some one mentioned the terrific appearance of Rogers's corpse, I
thought he was upon the point of swooning. Peters now asked him if he
did not think it would be better to have the body thrown overboard at
once, as it was too horrible a sight to see it floundering about in the
scuppers. At this the villain absolutely gasped for breath, and turned
his head slowly round upon his companions, as if imploring some one to
go up and perform the task. No one, however, stirred, and it was quite
evident that the whole party were wound up to the highest pitch of
nervous excitement. Peters now made me the signal. I immediately threw
open the door of the companion-way, and, descending without uttering a
syllable, stood erect in the midst of the party.
The intense effect produced by this sudden apparition is not at all to
be wondered at when the various circumstances are taken into
consideration. Usually, in cases of a similar nature, there is left in
the mind of the spectator some glimmering of doubt as to the reality of
the vision before his eyes; a degree of hope, however feeble, that he
is the victim of chicanery, and that the apparition is not actually a
visitant from the world of shadows. It is not too much to say that such
remnants of doubt have been at the bottom of almost every such
visitation, and that the appalling horror which has sometimes been
brought about, is to be attributed, even in the cases most in point,
and where most suffering has been experienced, more to a kind of
anticipative horror, lest the apparition _might possibly be_ real, than
to an unwavering belief in its reality. But, in the present instance,
it will be seen immediately, that in the minds of the mutineers there
was not even the shadow of a basis upon which to rest a doubt that the
apparition of Rogers was indeed a revivification of his disgusting
corpse, or at least its spiritual image. The isolated situation of the
brig, with its entire inaccessibility on account of the gale, confined
the apparently possible means of deception within such narrow and
definite limits, that they must have thought themselves enabled to
survey them all at a glance. They had now been at sea twenty-four days,
without holding more than a speaking communication with any vessel
whatever. The whole of the crew, too, at least all whom they had the
most remote reason for suspecting to be on board, were assembled in the
cabin, with the exception of Allen, the watch; and his gigantic stature
(he was six feet six inches high) was too familiar in their eyes to
permit the notion that he was the apparition before them to enter their
minds even for an instant. Add to these considerations the
awe-inspiring nature of the tempest, and that of the conversation
brought about by Peters; the deep impression which the loathsomeness of
the actual corpse had made in the morning upon the imaginations of the
men; the excellence of the imitation in my person; and the uncertain
and wavering light in which they beheld me, as the glare of the cabin
lantern, swinging violently to and fro, fell dubiously and fitfully
upon my figure, and there will be no reason to wonder that the
deception had even more than the entire effect which we had
anticipated. The mate sprang up from the mattress on which he was
lying, and, without uttering a syllable, fell back, stone dead, upon
the cabin floor, and was hurled to the leeward like a log by a heavy
roll of the brig. Of the remaining seven there were but three who had
at first any degree of presence of mind. The four others sat for some
time rooted apparently to the floor, the most pitiable objects of
horror and utter despair my eyes ever encountered. The only opposition
we experienced at all was from the cook, John Hunt, and Richard Parker;
but they made but a feeble and irresolute defence. The two former were
shot instantly by Peters, and I felled Parker with a blow on the head
from the pump-handle which I had brought with me. In the mean time
Augustus seized one of the muskets lying on the floor, and shot another
mutineer (---- Wilson) through the breast. There were now but three
remaining; but by this time they had become aroused from their
lethargy, and perhaps began to see that a deception had been practised
upon them, for they fought with great resolution and fury, and, but for
the immense muscular strength of Peters, might have ultimately got the
better of us. These three men were ---- Jones, ---- Greely, and Absalom
Hicks. Jones had thrown Augustus on the floor, stabbed him in several
places along the right arm, and would no doubt have soon despatched him
(as neither Peters nor myself could immediately get rid of our own
antagonists), had it not been for the timely aid of a friend upon whose
assistance we surely had never depended. This friend was no other than
Tiger. With a low growl he bounded into the cabin, at a most critical
moment for Augustus, and throwing himself upon Jones, pinned him to the
floor in an instant. My friend, however, was now too much injured to
render us any aid whatever, and I was so encumbered with my disguise
that I could do but little. The dog would not leave his hold upon the
throat of Jones--Peters, nevertheless, was far more than a match for
the two men who remained, and would, no doubt, have despatched them
sooner, had it not been for the narrow space in which he had to act,
and the tremendous lurches of the vessel. Presently he was enabled to
get hold of a heavy stool, several of which lay about the floor. With
this he beat out the brains of Greely as he was in the act of
discharging a musket at me, and immediately afterward a roll of the
brig throwing him in contact with Hicks, he seized him by the throat,
and, by dint of sheer strength, strangled him instantaneously. Thus, in
far less time than I have taken to tell it, we found ourselves masters
of the brig.
The only person of our opponents who was left alive was Richard Parker.
This man, it will be remembered, I had knocked down with a blow from
the pump-handle at the commencement of the attack. He now lay
motionless by the door of the shattered stateroom; but, upon Peters
touching him with his foot, he spoke, and entreated for mercy. His head
was only slightly cut, and otherwise he had received no injury, having
been merely stunned by the blow. He now got up, and, for the present,
we secured his hands behind his back. The dog was still growling over
Jones; but, upon examination, we found him completely dead, the blood
issuing in a stream from a deep wound in the throat, inflicted, no
doubt, by the sharp teeth of the animal.
It was now about one o'clock in the morning, and the wind was still
blowing tremendously. The brig evidently laboured much more than usual,
and it became absolutely necessary that something should be done with a
view of easing her in some measure. At almost every roll to leeward she
shipped a sea, several of which came partially down into the cabin
during our scuffle, the hatchway having been left open by myself when I
descended. The entire range of bulwarks to larboard had been swept
away, as well as the caboose, together with the jollyboat from the
counter. The creaking and working of the mainmast, too, gave indication
that it was nearly sprung. To make room for more stowage in the after
hold, the heel of this mast had been stepped between decks (a very
reprehensible practice, occasionally resorted to by ignorant
ship-builders), so that it was in imminent danger of working from its
step. But, to crown all our difficulties, we plummed the well, and
found no less than seven feet water.
Leaving the bodies of the crew lying in the cabin, we got to work
immediately at the pumps--Parker, of course, being set at liberty to
assist us in the labour. Augustus's arm was bound up as well as we
could effect it, and he did what he could, but that was not much.
However, we found that we could just manage to keep the leak from
gaining upon us by having one pump constantly going. As there were only
four of us, this was severe labour; but we endeavoured to keep up our
spirits, and looked anxiously for daybreak, when we hoped to lighten
the brig by cutting away the mainmast.
In this manner we passed a night of terrible anxiety and fatigue, and,
when the day at length broke, the gale had neither abated in the least,
nor were there any signs of its abating. We now dragged the bodies on
deck and threw them overboard. Our next care was to get rid of the
mainmast. The necessary preparations having been made, Peters cut away
at the mast (having found axes in the cabin), while the rest of us
stood by the stays and lanyards. As the brig gave a tremendous
lee-lurch, the word was given to cut away the weather-lanyards, which
being done, the whole mass of wood and rigging plunged into the sea,
clear of the brig, and without doing any material injury. We now found
that the vessel did not labour quite as much as before, but our
situation was still exceedingly precarious, and, in spite of the utmost
exertions, we could not gain upon the leak without the aid of both
pumps. The little assistance which Augustus could render us was not
really of any importance. To add to our distress, a heavy sea, striking
the brig to windward, threw her off several points from the wind, and,
before she could regain her position, another broke completely over
her, and hurled her full upon her beam-ends. The ballast now shifted in
a mass to leeward (the stowage had been knocking about perfectly at
random for some time), and for a few moments we thought nothing could
save us from capsizing. Presently, however, we partially righted; but
the ballast still retaining its place to larboard, we lay so much along
that it was useless to think of working the pumps, which indeed we
could not have done much longer in any case, as our hands were entirely
raw with the excessive labour we had undergone, and were bleeding in
the most horrible manner.
Contrary to Parker's advice, we now proceeded to cut away the foremast,
and at length accomplished it after much difficulty, owing to the
position in which we lay. In going overboard the wreck took with it the
bowsprit, and left us a complete hulk.
So far we had had reason to rejoice in the escape of our longboat,
which had received no damage from any of the huge seas which had come
on board. But we had not long to congratulate ourselves; for the
foremast having gone, and, of course, the foresail with it, by which
the brig had been steadied, every sea now made a complete breach over
us, and in five minutes our deck was swept from stem to stern, the
longboat and starboard bulwarks torn off, and even the windlass
shattered into fragments. It was, indeed, hardly possible for us to be
in a more pitiable condition.
At noon there seemed to be some slight appearance of the gale's
abating, but in this we were sadly disappointed, for it only lulled for
a few minutes to blow with redoubled fury. About four in the afternoon
it was utterly impossible to stand up against the violence of the
blast; and, as the night closed in upon us, I had not a shadow of hope
that the vessel would hold together until morning.
By midnight we had settled very deep in the water, which was now up to
the orlop deck. The rudder went soon afterward, the sea which tore it
away lifting the after portion of the brig entirely from the water,
against which she thumped in her descent with such a concussion as
would be occasioned by going ashore. We had all calculated that the
rudder would hold its own to the last, as it was unusually strong,
being rigged as I have never seen one rigged either before or since.
Down its main timber there ran a succession of stout iron hooks, and
others in the same manner down the stern-post. Through these hooks
there extended a very thick wrought-iron rod, the rudder being thus
held to the stern-post, and swinging freely on the rod. The tremendous
force of the sea which tore it off may be estimated by the fact, that
the hooks in the stern-post, which ran entirely through it, being
clinched on the inside, were drawn every one of them completely out of
the solid wood.
We had scarcely time to draw breath after the violence of this shock,
when one of the most tremendous waves I had then ever known broke right
on board of us, sweeping the companion-way clear off, bursting in the
hatchways, and filling every inch of the vessel with water.