_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 turned 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. Towards evening 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 labour 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,
water-jug, 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
everything 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 released 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 these 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 utterly 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 around 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 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 our 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
favourable 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
perpetrated 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 run 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.
[Footnote 2: The case of the brig Polly, of Boston, is one so much in
point, and her fate, in many respects, so remarkably similar to our
own, that I cannot forbear alluding to it here. This vessel, of one
hundred and thirty tons burden, sailed from Boston, with a cargo of
lumber and provisions, for Santa Croix, on the twelfth of December,
1811, under the command of Captain Casneau. There were eight souls on
board besides the captain--the mate, four seamen, and the cook,
together with a Mr. Hunt, and a negro girl belonging to him. On the
fifteenth, having cleared the shoal of Georges, she sprung a leak in a
gale of wind from the southeast, and was finally capsized; but, the
mast going by the board, she afterward righted. They remained in this
situation, without fire, and with very little provision, for the period
of _one hundred and ninety-one days_ (from December the fifteenth to
June the twentieth) when Captain Casneau and Samuel Badger, the only
survivers, were taken off the wreck by the Fame, of Hull, Captain
Featherstone, bound home from Rio Janeiro. When picked up they were in
latitude _28 N., longitude 13 W., having drifted above two thousand
miles_. On the ninth of July the Fame fell in with the brig Dromeo,
Captain Perkins, who landed the two sufferers in Kennebeck. The
narrative from which we gather these details ends in the following
words.
"It is natural to inquire how they could float such a vast distance,
upon the most frequented part of the Atlantic, and not be discovered
all this time. _They were passed by more than a dozen sail, one of
which came so nigh them that they could distinctly see the people on
deck and on the rigging looking at them; but, to the inexpressible
disappointment of the starving and freezing men, they stifled the
dictates of compassion, hoisted sail, and cruelly abandoned them to
their fate._"]