The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

Chapter 9

LUCKILY, just before night, all four of us had lashed ourselves

firmly to the fragments of the windlass, lying in this manner as flat

upon the deck as possible. This precaution alone saved us from

destruction. As it was, we were all more or less stunned by the

immense weight of water which tumbled upon us, and which did not roll

from above us until we were nearly exhausted. As soon as I could

recover breath, I called aloud to my companions. Augustus alone

replied, saying: "It is all over with us, and may God have mercy upon

our souls!" By-and-by both the others were enabled to speak, when

they exhorted us to take courage, as there was still hope; it being

impossible, from the nature of the cargo, that the brig could go

down, and there being every chance that the gale would blow over by

the morning. These words inspired me with new life; for, strange as

it may seem, although it was obvious that a vessel with a cargo of

empty oil-casks would not sink, I had been hitherto so confused in

mind as to have overlooked this consideration altogether; and the

danger which I had for some time regarded as the most imminent was

that of foundering. As hope revived within me, I made use of every

opportunity to strengthen the lashings which held me to the remains

of the windlass, and in this occupation I soon discovered that my

companions were also busy. The night was as dark as it could possibly

be, and the horrible shrieking din and confusion which surrounded us

it is useless to attempt describing. Our deck lay level with the sea,

or rather we were encircled with a towering ridge of foam, a portion

of which swept over us even instant. It is not too much to say that

our heads were not fairly out of the water more than one second in

three. Although we lay close together, no one of us could see the

other, or, indeed, any portion of the brig itself, upon which we were

so tempestuously hurled about. At intervals we called one to the

other, thus endeavouring to keep alive hope, and render consolation

and encouragement to such of us as stood most in need of it. The

feeble condition of Augustus made him an object of solicitude with us

all; and as, from the lacerated condition of his right arm, it must

have been impossible for him to secure his lashings with any degree

of firmness, we were in momentary expectation of finding that he had

gone overboard -- yet to render him aid was a thing altogether out of

the question. Fortunately, his station was more secure than that of

any of the rest of us; for the upper part of his body lying just

beneath a portion of the shattered windlass, the seas, as they

tumbled in upon him, were greatly broken in their violence. In any

other situation than this (into which he had been accidentally thrown

after having lashed himself in a very exposed spot) he must

inevitably have perished before morning. Owing to the brig's lying so

much along, we were all less liable to be washed off than otherwise

would have been the case. The heel, as I have before stated, was to

larboard, about one half of the deck being constantly under water.

The seas, therefore, which struck us to starboard were much broken,

by the vessel's side, only reaching us in fragments as we lay flat on

our faces; while those which came from larboard being what are called

back-water seas, and obtaining little hold upon us on account of our

posture, had not sufficient force to drag us from our fastenings.

In this frightful situation we lay until the day broke so as to

show us more fully the horrors which surrounded us. The brig was a

mere log, rolling about at the mercy of every wave; the gale was upon

the increase, if any thing, blowing indeed a complete hurricane, and

there appeared to us no earthly prospect of deliverance. For several

hours we held on in silence, expecting every moment that our lashings

would either give way, that the remains of the windlass would go by

the board, or that some of the huge seas, which roared in every

direction around us and above us, would drive the hulk so far beneath

the water that we should be drowned before it could regain the

surface. By the mercy of God, however, we were preserved from these

imminent dangers, and about midday were cheered by the light of the

blessed sun. Shortly afterward we could perceive a sensible

diminution in the force of the wind, when, now for the first time

since the latter part of the evening before, Augustus spoke, asking

Peters, who lay closest to him, if he thought there was any

possibility of our being saved. As no reply was at first made to this

question, we all concluded that the hybrid had been drowned where he

lay; but presently, to our great joy, he spoke, although very feebly,

saying that he was in great pain, being so cut by the tightness of

his lashings across the stomach, that he must either find means of

loosening them or perish, as it was impossible that he could endure

his misery much longer. This occasioned us great distress, as it was

altogether useless to think of aiding him in any manner while the sea

continued washing over us as it did. We exhorted him to bear his

sufferings with fortitude, and promised to seize the first

opportunity which should offer itself to relieve him. He replied that

it would soon be too late; that it would be all over with him before

we could help him; and then, after moaning for some minutes, lay

silent, when we concluded that he had perished.

As the evening drew on, the sea had fallen so much that scarcely

more than one wave broke over the hulk from windward in the course of

five minutes, and the wind had abated a great deal, although still

blowing a severe gale. I had not heard any of my companions speak for

hours, and now called to Augustus. He replied, although very feebly,

so that I could not distinguish what he said. I then spoke to Peters

and to Parker, neither of whom returned any answer.

Shortly after this period I fell into a state of partial

insensibility, during which the most pleasing images floated in my

imagination; such as green trees, waving meadows of ripe grain,

processions of dancing girls, troops of cavalry, and other

phantasies. I now remember that, in all which passed before my mind's

eye, motion was a predominant idea. Thus, I never fancied any

stationary object, such as a house, a mountain, or any thing of that

kind; but windmills, ships, large birds, balloons, people on

horseback, carriages driving furiously, and similar moving objects,

presented themselves in endless succession. When I recovered from

this state, the sun was, as near as I could guess, an hour high. I

had the greatest difficulty in bringing to recollection the various

circumstances connected with my situation, and for some time remained

firmly convinced that I was still in the hold of the brig, near the

box, and that the body of Parker was that of Tiger.

When I at length completely came to my senses, I found that the

wind blew no more than a moderate breeze, and that the sea was

comparatively calm; so much so that it only washed over the brig

amidships. My left arm had broken loose from its lashings, and was

much cut about the elbow; my right was entirely benumbed, and the

hand and wrist swollen prodigiously by the pressure of the rope,

which had worked from the shoulder downward. I was also in great pain

from another rope which went about my waist, and had been drawn to an

insufferable degree of tightness. Looking round upon my companions, I

saw that Peters still lived, although a thick line was pulled so

forcibly around his loins as to give him the appearance of being cut

nearly in two; as I stirred, he made a feeble motion to me with his

hand, pointing to the rope. Augustus gave no indication of life

whatever, and was bent nearly double across a splinter of the

windlass. Parker spoke to me when he saw me moving, and asked me if I

had not sufficient strength to release him from his situation, saying

that if I would summon up what spirits I could, and contrive to untie

him, we might yet save our lives; but that otherwise we must all

perish. I told him to take courage, and I would endeavor to free him.

Feeling in my pantaloons' pocket, I got hold of my penknife, and,

after several ineffectual attempts, at length succeeded in opening

it. I then, with my left hand, managed to free my right from its

fastenings, and afterward cut the other ropes which held me. Upon

attempting, however, to move from my position, I found that my legs

failed me altogether, and that I could not get up; neither could I

move my right arm in any direction. Upon mentioning this to Parker,

he advised me to lie quiet for a few minutes, holding on to the

windlass with my left hand, so as to allow time for the blood to

circulate. Doing this, the numbness presently began to die away so

that I could move first one of my legs, and then the other, and,

shortly afterward I regained the partial use of my right arm. I now

crawled with great caution toward Parker, without getting on my legs,

and soon cut loose all the lashings about him, when, after a short

delay, he also recovered the partial use of his limbs. We now lost no

time in getting loose the rope from Peters. It had cut a deep gash

through the waistband of his woollen pantaloons, and through two

shirts, and made its way into his groin, from which the blood flowed

out copiously as we removed the cordage. No sooner had we removed it,

however, than he spoke, and seemed to experience instant relief-

being able to move with much greater ease than either Parker or

myself- this was no doubt owing to the discharge of blood.

We had little hopes that Augustus would recover, as he evinced no

signs of life; but, upon getting to him, we discovered that he had

merely swooned from the loss of blood, the bandages we had placed

around his wounded arm having been torn off by the water; none of the

ropes which held him to the windlass were drawn sufficiently tight to

occasion his death. Having relieved him from the fastenings, and got

him clear of the broken wood about the windlass, we secured him in a

dry place to windward, with his head somewhat lower than his body,

and all three of us busied ourselves in chafing his limbs. In about

half an hour he came to himself, although it was not until the next

morning that he gave signs of recognizing any of us, or had

sufficient strength to speak. By the time we had thus got clear of

our lashings it was quite dark, and it began to cloud up, so that we

were again in the greatest agony lest it should come on to blow hard,

in which event nothing could have saved us from perishing, exhausted

as we were. By good fortune it continued very moderate during the

night, the sea subsiding every minute, which gave us great hopes of

ultimate preservation. A gentle breeze still blew from the N. W., but

the weather was not at all cold. Augustus was lashed carefully to

windward in such a manner as to prevent him from slipping overboard

with the rolls of the vessel, as he was still too weak to hold on at

all. For ourselves there was no such necessity. We sat close

together, supporting each other with the aid of the broken ropes

about the windlass, and devising methods of escape from our frightful

situation. We derived much comfort from taking off our clothes and

wringing the water from them. When we put them on after this, they

felt remarkably warm and pleasant, and served to invigorate us in no

little degree. We helped Augustus off with his, and wrung them for

him, when he experienced the same comfort.

Our chief sufferings were now those of hunger and thirst, and

when we looked forward to the means of relief in this respect, our

hearts sunk within us, and we were induced to regret that we had

escaped the less dreadful perils of the sea. We endeavoured, however,

to console ourselves with the hope of being speedily picked up by

some vessel and encouraged each other to bear with fortitude the

evils that might happen.

The morning of the fourteenth at length dawned, and the weather

still continued clear and pleasant, with a steady but very light

breeze from the N. W. The sea was now quite smooth, and as, from some

cause which we could not determine, the brig did not lie so much along

as she had done before, the deck was comparatively dry, and we could

move about with freedom. We had now been better than three entire

days and nights without either food or drink, and it became

absolutely necessary that we should make an attempt to get up

something from below. As the brig was completely full of water, we

went to this work despondently, and with but little expectation of

being able to obtain anything. We made a kind of drag by driving some

nails which we broke out from the remains of the companion-hatch into

two pieces of wood. Tying these across each other, and fastening them

to the end of a rope, we threw them into the cabin, and dragged them

to and fro, in the faint hope of being thus able to entangle some

article which might be of use to us for food, or which might at least

render us assistance in getting it. We spent the greater part of the

morning in this labour without effect, fishing up nothing more than a

few bedclothes, which were readily caught by the nails. Indeed, our

contrivance was so very clumsy that any greater success was hardly to

be anticipated.

We now tried the forecastle, but equally in vain, and were upon

the brink of despair, when Peters proposed that we should fasten a

rope to his body, and let him make an attempt to get up something by

diving into the cabin. This proposition we hailed with all the

delight which reviving hope could inspire. He proceeded immediately

to strip off his clothes with the exception of his pantaloons; and a

strong rope was then carefully fastened around his middle, being

brought up over his shoulders in such a manner that there was no

possibility of its slipping. The undertaking was one of great

difficulty and danger; for, as we could hardly expect to find much,

if any, provision in the cabin itself, it was necessary that the

diver, after letting himself down, should make a turn to the right,

and proceed under water a distance of ten or twelve feet, in a narrow

passage, to the storeroom, and return, without drawing breath.

Everything being ready, Peters now descended in the cabin, going

down the companion-ladder until the water reached his chin. He then

plunged in, head first, turning to the right as he plunged, and

endeavouring to make his way to the storeroom. In this first attempt,

however, he was altogether unsuccessful. In less than half a minute

after his going down we felt the rope jerked violently (the signal we

had agreed upon when he desired to be drawn up). We accordingly drew

him up instantly, but so incautiously as to bruise him badly against

the ladder. He had brought nothing with him, and had been unable to

penetrate more than a very little way into the passage, owing to the

constant exertions he found it necessary to make in order to keep

himself from floating up against the deck. Upon getting out he was

very much exhausted, and had to rest full fifteen minutes before he

could again venture to descend.

The second attempt met with even worse success; for he remained

so long under water without giving the signal, that, becoming alarmed

for his safety, we drew him out without it, and found that he was

almost at the last gasp, having, as he said, repeatedly jerked at the

rope without our feeling it. This was probably owing to a portion of

it having become entangled in the balustrade at the foot of the

ladder. This balustrade was, indeed, so much in the way, that we

determined to remove it, if possible, before proceeding with our

design. As we had no means of getting it away except by main force,

we all descended into the water as far as we could on the ladder, and

giving a pull against it with our united strength, succeeded in

breaking it down.

The third attempt was equally unsuccessful with the two first,

and it now became evident that nothing could be done in this manner

without the aid of some weight with which the diver might steady

himself, and keep to the floor of the cabin while making his search.

For a long time we looked about in vain for something which might

answer this purpose; but at length, to our great joy, we discovered

one of the weather-forechains so loose that we had not the least

difficulty in wrenching it off. Having fastened this securely to one

of his ankles, Peters now made his fourth descent into the cabin, and

this time succeeded in making his way to the door of the steward's

room. To his inexpressible grief, however, he found it locked, and

was obliged to return without effecting an entrance, as, with the

greatest exertion, he could remain under water not more, at the

utmost extent, than a single minute. Our affairs now looked gloomy

indeed, and neither Augustus nor myself could refrain from bursting

into tears, as we thought of the host of difficulties which

encompassed us, and the slight probability which existed of our

finally making an escape. But this weakness was not of long duration.

Throwing ourselves on our knees to God, we implored His aid in the

many dangers which beset us; and arose with renewed hope and vigor to

think what could yet be done by mortal means toward accomplishing our

deliverance.