The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

Chapter 4

THE brig put to sea, as I had supposed, in about an hour after he

had left the watch. This was on the twentieth of June. It will be

remembered that I had then been in the hold for three days; and,

during this period, there was so constant a bustle on board, and so

much running to and fro, especially in the cabin and staterooms, that

he had had no chance of visiting me without the risk of having the

secret of the trap discovered. When at length he did come, I had

assured him that I was doing as well as possible; and, therefore, for

the two next days be felt but little uneasiness on my account- still,

however, watching an opportunity of going down. It was not until the

fourth day that he found one. Several times during this interval he

had made up his mind to let his father know of the adventure, and

have me come up at once; but we were still within reaching distance

of Nantucket, and it was doubtful, from some expressions which had

escaped Captain Barnard, whether he would not immediately put back if

he discovered me to be on board. Besides, upon thinking the matter

over, Augustus, so he told me, could not imagine that I was in

immediate want, or that I would hesitate, in such case, to make

myself heard at the trap. When, therefore, he considered everything

he concluded to let me stay until he could meet with an opportunity

of visiting me unobserved. This, as I said before, did not occur

until the fourth day after his bringing me the watch, and the seventh

since I had first entered the hold. He then went down without taking

with him any water or provisions, intending in the first place merely

to call my attention, and get me to come from the box to the trap,-

when he would go up to the stateroom and thence hand me down a supply.

When he descended for this purpose he found that I was asleep,

for it seems that I was snoring very loudly. From all the

calculations I can make on the subject, this must have been the

slumber into which I fell just after my return from the trap with the

watch, and which, consequently, must have lasted for more than three

entire days and nights at the very least. Latterly, I have had reason

both from my own experience and the assurance of others, to be

acquainted with the strong soporific effects of the stench arising

from old fish-oil when closely confined; and when I think of the

condition of the hold in which I was imprisoned, and the long period

during which the brig had been used as a whaling vessel, I am more

inclined to wonder that I awoke at all, after once falling asleep,

than that I should have slept uninterruptedly for the period

specified above.

Augustus called to me at first in a low voice and without

closing the trap- but I made him no reply. He then shut the trap, and

spoke to me in a louder, and finally in a very loud tone- still I

continued to snore. He was now at a loss what to do. It would take

him some time to make his way through the lumber to my box, and in

the meanwhile his absence would be noticed by Captain Barnard, who

had occasion for his services every minute, in arranging and copying

papers connected with the business of the voyage. He determined,

therefore, upon reflection, to ascend, and await another opportunity

of visiting me. He was the more easily induced to this resolve, as my

slumber appeared to be of the most tranquil nature, and he could not

suppose that I had undergone any inconvenience from my incarceration.

He had just made up his mind on these points when his attention was

arrested by an unusual bustle, the sound of which proceeded

apparently from the cabin. He sprang through the trap as quickly as

possible, closed it, and threw open the door of his stateroom. No

sooner had he put his foot over the threshold than a pistol flashed

in his face, and he was knocked down, at the same moment, by a blow

from a handspike.

A strong hand held him on the cabin floor, with a tight grasp

upon his throat; still he was able to see what was going on around

him. His father was tied hand and foot, and lying along the steps of

the companion-way, with his head down, and a deep wound in the

forehead, from which the blood was flowing in a continued stream. He

spoke not a word, and was apparently dying. Over him stood the first

mate, eyeing him with an expression of fiendish derision, and

deliberately searching his pockets, from which he presently drew

forth a large wallet and a chronometer. Seven of the crew (among whom

was the cook, a n***o) were rummaging the staterooms on the larboard

for arms, where they soon equipped themselves with muskets and

ammunition. Besides Augustus and Captain Barnard, there were nine men

altogether in the cabin, and these among the most ruffianly of the

brig's company. The villains now went upon deck, taking my friend

with them after having secured his arms behind his back. They

proceeded straight to the forecastle, which was fastened down- two of

the mutineers standing by it with axes- two also at the main hatch.

The mate called out in a loud voice: "Do you hear there below? tumble

up with you, one by one- now, mark that- and no grumbling!" It was

some minutes before any one appeared:- at last an Englishman, who had

shipped as a raw hand, came up, weeping piteously, and entreating the

mate, in the most humble manner, to spare his life. The only reply

was a blow on the forehead from an axe. The poor fellow fell to the

deck without a groan, and the black cook lifted him up in his arms as

he would a child, and tossed him deliberately into the sea. Hearing

the blow and the plunge of the body, the men below could now be

induced to venture on deck neither by threats nor promises, until a

proposition was made to smoke them out. A general rush then ensued,

and for a moment it seemed possible that the brig might be retaken.

The mutineers, however, succeeded at last in closing the forecastle

effectually before more than six of their opponents could get up.

These six, finding themselves so greatly outnumbered and without

arms, submitted after a brief struggle. The mate gave them fair

words- no doubt with a view of inducing those below to yield, for

they had no difficulty in hearing all that was said on deck. The

result proved his sagacity, no less than his diabolical villainy. All

in the forecastle presently signified their intention of submitting,

and, ascending one by one, were pinioned and then thrown on their

backs, together with the first six- there being in all, of the crew

who were not concerned in the mutiny, twenty-seven.

A scene of the most horrible butchery ensued. The bound seamen

were dragged to the gangway. Here the cook stood with an axe,

striking each victim on the head as he was forced over the side of

the vessel by the other mutineers. In this manner twenty-two

perished, and Augustus had given himself up for lost, expecting every

moment his own turn to come next. But it seemed that the villains

were now either weary, or in some measure disgusted with their bloody

labour; for the four remaining prisoners, together with my friend,

who had been thrown on the deck with the rest, were respited while

the mate sent below for rum, and the whole murderous party held a

drunken carouse, which lasted until sunset. They now fell to

disputing in regard to the fate of the survivors, who lay not more

than four paces off, and could distinguish every word said. Upon some

of the mutineers the liquor appeared to have a softening effect, for

several voices were heard in favor of releasing the captives

altogether, on condition of joining the mutiny and sharing the

profits. The black cook, however (who in all respects was a perfect

demon, and who seemed to exert as much influence, if not more, than

the mate himself), would listen to no proposition of the kind, and

rose repeatedly for the purpose of resuming his work at the gangway.

Fortunately he was so far overcome by intoxication as to be easily

restrained by the less bloodthirsty of the party, among whom was a

line-manager, who went by the name of Dirk Peters. This man was the

son of an Indian squaw of the tribe of Upsarokas, who live among the

fastnesses of the Black Hills, near the source of the Missouri. His

father was a fur-trader, I believe, or at least connected in some

manner with the Indian trading-posts on Lewis river. Peter himself

was one of the most ferocious-looking men I ever beheld. He was short

in stature, not more than four feet eight inches high, but his limbs

were of Herculean mould. His hands, especially, were so enormously

thick and broad as hardly to retain a human shape. His arms, as well

as legs, were bowed in the most singular manner, and appeared to

possess no flexibility whatever. His head was equally deformed, being

of immense size, with an indentation on the crown (like that on the

head of most n*****s), and entirely bald. To conceal this latter

deficiency, which did not proceed from old age, he usually wore a wig

formed of any hair-like material which presented itself- occasionally

the skin of a Spanish dog or American grizzly bear. At the time

spoken of, he had on a portion of one of these bearskins; and it

added no little to the natural ferocity of his countenance, which

betook of the Upsaroka character. The mouth extended nearly from ear

to ear, the lips were thin, and seemed, like some other portions of

his frame, to be devoid of natural pliancy, so that the ruling

expression never varied under the influence of any emotion whatever.

This ruling expression may be conceived when it is considered that

the teeth were exceedingly long and protruding, and never even

partially covered, in any instance, by the lips. To pass this man

with a casual glance, one might imagine him to be convulsed with

laughter, but a second look would induce a shuddering acknowledgment,

that if such an expression were indicative of merriment, the

merriment must be that of a demon. Of this singular being many

anecdotes were prevalent among the seafaring men of Nantucket. These

anecdotes went to prove his prodigious strength when under

excitement, and some of them had given rise to a doubt of his sanity.

But on board the Grampus, it seems, he was regarded, at the time of

the mutiny, with feelings more of derision than of anything else. I

have been thus particular in speaking of Dirk Peters, because,

ferocious as he appeared, he proved the main instrument in preserving

the life of Augustus, and because I shall have frequent occasion to

mention him hereafter in the course of my narrative- a narrative, let

me here say, which, in its latter portions, will be found to include

incidents of a nature so entirely out of the range of human

experience, and for this reason so far beyond the limits of human

credulity, that I proceed in utter hopelessness of obtaining credence

for all that I shall tell, yet confidently trusting in time and

progressing science to verify some of the most important and most

improbable of my statements.

After much indecision and two or three violent quarrels, it was

determined at last that all the prisoners (with the exception of

Augustus, whom Peters insisted in a jocular manner upon keeping as

his clerk) should be set adrift in one of the smallest whaleboats.

The mate went down into the cabin to see if Captain Barnard was still

living- for, it will be remembered, he was left below when the

mutineers came up. Presently the two made their appearance, the

captain pale as death, but somewhat recovered from the effects of his

wound. He spoke to the men in a voice hardly articulate, entreated

them not to set him adrift, but to return to their duty, and

promising to land them wherever they chose, and to take no steps for

bringing them to justice. He might as well have spoken to the winds.

Two of the ruffians seized him by the arms and hurled him over the

brig's side into the boat, which had been lowered while the mate went

below. The four men who were lying on the deck were then untied and

ordered to follow, which they did without attempting any resistance-

Augustus being still left in his painful position, although he

struggled and prayed only for the poor satisfaction of being

permitted to bid his father farewell. A handful of sea-biscuit and a

jug of water were now handed down; but neither mast, sail, oar, nor

compass. The boat was towed astern for a few minutes, during which

the mutineers held another consultation- it was then finally cut

adrift. By this time night had come on- there were neither moon nor

stars visible- and a short and ugly sea was running, although there

was no great deal of wind. The boat was instantly out of sight, and

little hope could be entertained for the unfortunate sufferers who

were in it. This event happened, however, in latitude 35 degrees 30'

north, longitude 61 degrees 20' west, and consequently at no very

great distance from the Bermuda Islands. Augustus therefore

endeavored to console himself with the idea that the boat might

either succeed in reaching the land, or come sufficiently near to be

fallen in with by vessels off the coast.

All sail was now put upon the brig, and she continued her

original course to the southwest- the mutineers being bent upon some

piratical expedition, in which, from all that could be understood, a

ship was to be intercepted on her way from the Cape Verd Islands to

Porto Rico. No attention was paid to Augustus, who was untied and

suffered to go about anywhere forward of the cabin companion-way.

Dirk Peters treated him with some degree of kindness, and on one

occasion saved him from the brutality of the cook. His situation was

still one of the most precarious, as the men were continually

intoxicated, and there was no relying upon their continued good-humor

or carelessness in regard to himself. His anxiety on my account be

represented, however, as the most distressing result of his

condition; and, indeed, I had never reason to doubt the sincerity of

his friendship. More than once he had resolved to acquaint the

mutineers with the secret of my being on board, but was restrained

from so doing, partly through recollection of the atrocities he had

already beheld, and partly through a hope of being able soon to bring

me relief. For the latter purpose he was constantly on the watch;

but, in spite of the most constant vigilance, three days elapsed

after the boat was cut adrift before any chance occurred. At length,

on the night of the third day, there came on a heavy blow from the

eastward, and all hands were called up to take in sail. During the

confusion which ensued, he made his way below unobserved, and into

the stateroom. What was his grief and horror in discovering that the

latter had been rendered a place of deposit for a variety of

sea-stores and ship-furniture, and that several fathoms of old

chain-cable, which had been stowed away beneath the companion-ladder,

had been dragged thence to make room for a chest, and were now lying

immediately upon the trap! To remove it without discovery was

impossible, and he returned on deck as quickly as he could. As be

came up, the mate seized him by the throat, and demanding what he had

been doing in the cabin, was about flinging him over the larboard

bulwark, when his life was again preserved through the interference

of Dirk Peters. Augustus was now put in handcuffs (of which there

were several pairs on board), and his feet lashed tightly together.

He was then taken into the steerage, and thrown into a lower berth

next to the forecastle bulkheads, with the assurance that he should

never put his foot on deck again "until the brig was no longer a

brig." This was the expression of the cook, who threw him into the

berth- it is hardly possible to say what precise meaning intended by

the phrase. The whole affair, however, proved the ultimate means of

my relief, as will presently appear.