University of California Berkeley 
 Gift of 
 
 THOMAS REX HARDY 
 

 
 
 *hBBP 
 

 
 [May, 1838. 
 
 IMPORTANT WORKS 
 
 JUST PUBLISHED BY 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW-YORK. 
 
 Alice ; or, The Mysteries : a Sequel to " Ernest Mal- 
 travers." By the Author of " Pelham," " Rienzi," &c., &c. In 
 2 vols. 12mo. 
 
 Retrospect of Western Travel. By Harriett Marti- 
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 The Works of Charles Lamb. To which are pre 
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 Memoirs of Aaron Burr. With Miscellaneous Selec 
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 A New Hieroglyphical Bible, with 400 Cuts by Ad 
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 Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the 
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 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. 
 Comprising the Details of a Mutiny and atrocious Butchery on 
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 in the Month of June, 1827, &c., &c., &c. 12mo. Engravings. 
 
 The Economy of Health ; or, the Stream of Human 
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 The Monk of Cimies. By Mrs. Sherwood. 12mo. 
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 Henry Milner. Complete. [Vol. XV. of Mrs. Sher 
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 Sacred History of the World. By Sharon Turner. 
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 Scenery of the Heavens. By Thomas Dick, LL.D., 
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 Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, 
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 Leila ; or, the Siege of Grenada. By E. L. Bulwer, 
 
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 Ernest Maltravers. By the Author of ' Pelham," 
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 Attila. By the Author of " Richelieu," * Philip Augus 
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 Constance Latimer ; or, the Blind Girl. With other 
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 JO" The following works, already published, may be regarded as 
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 Sallust's Jugurthine War and Conspiracy of Catiline, 
 
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 A System of Greek Prosody and Metre, with Illustra 
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THE NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 ARTHUR GORDO.N P Y M. 
 
 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 J 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 KISB. 
 
 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 ad 
 venture 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 mat 
 ters 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 con 
 cern 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 state 
 ment so minute and connected as to have the ap 
 pearance of that truth it would really possess, bar 
 ring 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 pos 
 itively marvellous, that, unsupported as my asser 
 tions must necessarily be (except by the evidence of 
 a single individual, and he a half-breed Indian), I 
 A2 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 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 inge 
 nious 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 ex 
 pressed the greatest interest in my statement, more 
 particularly in regard to that portion of it which re 
 lated 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 ad 
 vised 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 how 
 ever 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, pub 
 lishing it in the Southern Messenger under the garb 
 of fiction. To this, perceiving no objection, I con 
 sented, stipulating only that my real name should 
 be retained. Two numbers of the pretended fic 
 tion appeared, consequently, in the Messenger for 
 January and February (1837), and, in order that it 
 might certainly be regarded as fiction, the name 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 
 
 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 fa 
 ble 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 convic 
 tion 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 expose 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 read 
 ers 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 
 
 A. GORDON PYM. 
 
 MY name is Arthur Gordon Pym. My father was a re 
 spectable 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 specu 
 lated 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 mon 
 ey. He was more attached to myself, I believe, than 
 to any other person in the world, and I expected to in 
 herit 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 rela 
 tions, I am certain, in Edgarton. His son was named 
 Augustus, and he was nearly two years older than my 
 self. 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 fre 
 quently 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, 
 
10 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 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 intro 
 duction to a longer and more momentous narrative. One 
 night there was a party at Mr. Barnard's, and both Au 
 gustus 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 favour 
 ite 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 en 
 tirely 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 de 
 lightful 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, neverthe 
 less, in a kind of ecstasy, and told him I was quite as 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 11 
 
 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. Augus 
 tus got into her and bailed her, for she was nearly half 
 full of water. This being done, we hoisted jib and main 
 sail, 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. Au 
 gustus 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 cast 
 ing 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 be 
 came 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 
 
12 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 looked at the speaker attentively. His lips were per 
 fectly 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 V " Matter !" he stammered, in the greatest 
 apparent surprise, letting go the tiller at the same mo 
 ment, and falling forward into the bottom of the boat 
 " matter ! why, nothing is the matter going home 
 d d don't you see 1" 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 ca 
 tastrophe. 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 evapo 
 rated, 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 be 
 hind 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 mo 
 ments paralyzed me beyond the possibility of making any 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 13 
 
 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 my 
 self. 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 sum 
 moned 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 free 
 dom 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 recommend 
 ed myself to God, and made up my mind to bear what 
 ever 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 atmo 
 sphere 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 
 
14 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 utterly to beat, and without having once raised my eyes 
 to learn the source of iny 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. Sev 
 eral 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 grat 
 itude 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 ex 
 plained. 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. Sev 
 eral men were on the look-out forward, but did not per 
 ceive 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 feath 
 er, and without the least perceptible impediment to her 
 progress. Not a scream arose from the deck of the vic 
 tim there was a slight grating sound to be heard ming 
 ling 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 (Cap 
 tain E. T. V. Block of New London) was for proceed 
 ing 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. Hen- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 15 
 
 derson, 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 gal 
 lows, 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 indi 
 vidual could be saved allowing any to have been on 
 board the boat. Yet, as the reader has seen, both Au 
 gustus 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 interfer 
 ence 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, start 
 ing up in his seat, bawled out to his crew to back water. 
 He would say nothing else repeating his cry impa 
 tiently, 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), 
 
16 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 hur 
 ricane. He had not been gone many minutes when he 
 fell in with some fragments of our boat, and shortly af 
 terward 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 perse 
 vere 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 con 
 ceive 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 17 
 
 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 ulti 
 mately the means of preserving his life. The Ariel was 
 slightly put together, and in going down her frame nat 
 urally 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 Augus 
 tus 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 thor 
 oughly 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 insensi 
 bility. Upon once more reviving he was in fuller posses 
 sion of his reason this was still, how.ever, in the great 
 est degree clouded and confused. He now knew that 
 some accident had occurred, and that he was in the wa 
 ter, 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 posi 
 tion, 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, 
 B3 
 
18 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 screaming at intervals for help. Just before he was dis 
 covered 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 get 
 ting on board the Penguin before he became fully aware 
 of his condition. In regard to myself I was resusci 
 tated 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 com 
 panion, 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 intoxica 
 tion, and felt himself sinking beneath its influence. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IN no affairs of mere prejudice, pro or con, do we de 
 duce 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 memo 
 ry the shadows, and bring out in vivid light all the pleas- 
 urably 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 sus 
 pect to hav 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 numer 
 ous 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 commu 
 nion had resulted in a partial interchange of character. 
 
20 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 About eighteen months after the period of the Ariel's 
 disaster, the firm of Lloyd and Vredenburgh (a house con 
 nected 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 fre 
 quently 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 th$ 
 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 accom 
 plished. In the meantime I forbore speaking to any of 
 my relations in regard to the voyage, and, as I busied my 
 self ostensibly with my usual studies, it was supposed 
 that I had abandoned the design. I have since fre 
 quently 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 ac 
 tion 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 ne 
 cessarily 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 21 
 
 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 rela 
 tion 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 mid 
 dle of June (June, 1827), and it was agreed that, a day 
 or two before her putting to sea, my father was to re 
 ceive 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 comfort 
 able for a residence of many days, during which I was 
 not to make my appearance. When the brig had pro 
 ceeded 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. Augus 
 tus 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 
 
22 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 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 V 
 " Sir !" I replied, assuming, as well as I could, in the ex 
 igency 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 ober- 
 coat 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, put 
 ting 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, turn 
 ing 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 fore 
 castle combings. Captain Barnard, we knew very well, 
 was engaged at Lloyd and Vredenburg's, and would re 
 main 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, with 
 out 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 conve 
 nient berths. There was also a large stove, I took no 
 tice, and a remarkably thick and valuable carpet cover- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 23 
 
 ing 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 neces 
 sity 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 trav 
 els. There were many other little comforts in the room, 
 among which I ought not to forget a kind of safe or re 
 frigerator, 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 six 
 teen 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 be 
 neath. 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 ori 
 ginal 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 my 
 self. By degrees, however, my eyes became accustomed 
 
24 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 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 direc 
 tion 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 conceal 
 ment, 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 exces 
 sively 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 blan 
 kets, 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 cor 
 dials 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 25 
 
 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, to 
 gether with a copious supply of tapers and phosphorus, 
 and promising to pay me a visit as often as he could con 
 trive 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 open 
 ing. During the whole period I saw nothing of Augus 
 tus ; 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 com 
 ing 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. " Noth 
 ing," 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 go 
 ing 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 pos- 
 
 C 
 
26 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 sible, and await the course of events until I should be 
 permitted to exchange the box for the more roomy, al 
 though 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 de 
 grees, 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 be 
 thought 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 occa 
 sioned 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 other 
 wise, and, having wound up the watch, contented myself 
 as well as possible. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 27 
 
 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 entire 
 ly satisfied, from her continual inclination to the lar 
 board, 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 1 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 open 
 ing, and a further supply of water from his stateroom. 
 While occupied with this thought, however, I fell, in 
 
28 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 ser 
 pents 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 char 
 acter, spread themselves out before me. Immensely 
 tall trunks of trees, gray and leafless, rose up in end 
 less 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 ter 
 rible, beneath. And the strange trees seemed endowed 
 with a human vitality, and, waving to and fro their skel 
 eton 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. Sud 
 denly 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 dy 
 ing 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 29 
 
 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 extrava 
 gant demonstrations of affection and joy ! I was bewil 
 dered, 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 tem 
 ples 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 de 
 grees, 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 conjec 
 tures respecting him, was forced to content myself with 
 rejoicing that he was with me to share my dreary soli 
 tude, 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 ma 
 lignant little villain in Nantucket, who was leading 
 him, with a rope around his neck, to the water ; and the 
 
30 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 grown dog repaid the obligation, about three years af 
 terward, by saving me from the bludgeon of a street- 
 robber. 
 
 Getting now hold of the watch, I found, upon apply 
 ing it to my ear, that it had again run down ; but at this 
 I was not at all surprised, being convinced, from the pe 
 culiar 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 considera 
 tions 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 31 
 
 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 ex 
 pect as the result. At length, upon making a push for 
 ward 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-furni 
 ture. 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 ob 
 tained. In vain I attempted, by every means in my 
 power, to reach the top, with the hope of being thus ena 
 bled to draw myself up. Had I succeeded in reaching 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 it, it is certain that my strength would have proved ut 
 terly inadequate to the task of getting over, and it was 
 better in every respect that I failed. At length, in a des 
 perate 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 aper 
 ture, 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 astonish 
 ment, remained steady, and I became somewhat uneasy, 
 for I knew that it had formerly required little or no ef 
 fort to remove it. I pushed it strongly it was never 
 theless firm : with all my strength it still did not give 
 way : with rage, with fury, with despair it set at defi 
 ance 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 dis 
 may. In vain I attempted to reason on the probable 
 cause of my being thus entombed. J could summon up 
 no connected chain of reflection, and, sinking on the 
 floor, gave way, unresistingly, to the most gloomy ima 
 ginings, 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 33 
 
 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 dif 
 ficulties, 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 ar 
 rested 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 fre 
 quently 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, resu 
 ming his extraordinary manosuvres. 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, 
 
34 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE thought instantly occurred to me that the paper 
 was a note from Augustus, and that some unaccountable 
 accident having happened to prevent his relieving me 
 from my dungeon, he had devised this method of ac 
 quainting me with the true state of affairs. Trembling 
 with eagerness, I now commenced another search for 
 my phosphorus matches and tapers. I had a confused 
 recollection of having put them carefully away just be 
 fore falling asleep ; and, indeed, previously to my last 
 journey to the trap, I had been able to remember the 
 exact spot where I had deposited them. But now I en 
 deavoured in vain to call it to mind, and busied my 
 self for a full hour in a fruitless and vexatious search 
 for the missing articles ; never, surely, was there a more 
 tantalizing state of anxiety and suspense. At length, 
 while groping about, with my head close to the ballast, 
 near the opening of the box, and outside of it, I per 
 ceived a faint glimmering of light in the direction of the 
 steerage. Greatly surprised, I endeavoured to make my 
 way towards it, as it appeared to be but a few feet from 
 my position. Scarcely had I moved with this intention, 
 when I lost sight of the glimmer entirely, and, before I 
 could bring it into view again, was obliged to feel along 
 by the box until I had exactly resumed my original sit 
 uation. Now, moving my head with caution to and fro, 
 I found that, by proceeding slowly, with great care, in 
 an opposite direction to that in which I had at first 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 35 
 
 started, I was enabled to draw near the light, still keep 
 ing it in view. Presently I came directly upon it (hav 
 ing squeezed my way through innumerable narrow wind 
 ings), and found that it proceeded from some fragments 
 of my matches lying in an empty barrel turned upon its 
 side. I was wondering how they came in such a place, 
 when my hand fell upon two or three pieces of taper- 
 wax, which had been evidently mumbled by the dog. I 
 concluded at once that he had devoured the whole of my 
 supply of candles, and I felt hopeless of being ever able 
 to read the note of Augustus. The small remnants of 
 the wax were so mashed up among other rubbish in the 
 barrel, that I despaired of deriving any service from 
 them, and left them as they were. The phosphorus, of 
 which there was only a speck or two, I gathered up as 
 well as I could, and returned with it, after much dif 
 ficulty, to my box, where Tiger had all the while re 
 mained. 
 
 What to do next I could not tell. The hold was so 
 intensely dark that I could not see my hand, however 
 close I would hold it to my face. The white slip of 
 paper could barely be discerned, and not even that when 
 I looked at it directly ; by turning the exterior portions 
 of the retina towards it, that is to say, by surveying it 
 slightly askance, I found that it became in some meas 
 ure perceptible. Thus the gloom of my prison may be 
 imagined, and the note of my friend, if indeed it were a 
 note from him, seemed only likely to throw me into fur 
 ther trouble, by disquieting to no purpose my already 
 enfeebled and agitated mind. In vain I revolved in my 
 brain a multitude of absurd expedients for procuring 
 light such expedients precisely as a man in the per 
 turbed sleep occasioned by opium would be apt to fall 
 upon for a similar purpose each and all of which ap 
 pear by turns to the dreamer the most reasonable and 
 the most preposterous of conceptions, just as the reason 
 ing or imaginative faculties flicker, alternately, one 
 above the other. At last an idea occurred to me which 
 seemed rational, and which gave me cause to wonder, 
 very justly, that I had not entertained it before. I 
 
36 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 placed the slip of paper on the back of a book, and, col 
 lecting the fragments of the phosphorus matches which 
 I had brought from the barrel, laid them together upon 
 the paper. I then, with the palm of my hand, rubbed 
 the whole over quickly yet steadily. A clear light dif 
 fused itself immediately throughout the whole surface ; 
 and had there been any writing upon it, I should not 
 have experienced the least difficulty, I am sure, in read 
 ing it. Not a syllable was there, however nothing but 
 a dreary and unsatisfactory blank ; the illumination died 
 away in a few seconds, and my heart died away within 
 me as it went. 
 
 I have before stated more than once that my intellect, 
 for some period prior to this, had been in a condition 
 nearly bordering on idiocy. There were, to be sure, 
 momentary intervals of perfect sanity, and, now and 
 then, even of energy ; but these were few. It must be 
 remembered that I had been, for many days certainly, 
 inhaling the almost pestilential atmosphere of a close 
 hold in a whaling vessel, and a long portion of that time 
 but scantily supplied with water. For the last fourteen 
 or fifteen hours I had none nor had I slept during that 
 time. Salt provisions of the most exciting kind had 
 been my chief, and, indeed, since the loss of the mutton, 
 my only supply of food, with the exception of the sea- 
 biscuit ; and these latter were utterly useless to me, as 
 they were too dry and hard to be swallowed in the 
 swollen and parched condition of my throat. I was 
 now in a high state of fever, and in every respect ex 
 ceedingly ill. This will account for the fact that many 
 miserable hours of despondency elapsed after my last 
 adventure with the phosphorus, before the thought sug 
 gested itself that I had examined only one side of the 
 paper. I shall not attempt to describe my feelings of 
 rage (for I believe I was more angry than anything 
 else) when the egregious oversight I had committed 
 flashed suddenly upon my perception. The blunder it 
 self would have been unimportant, had not my own folly 
 and impetuosity rendered it otherwise in my disappoint 
 ment -at not finding some words upon the slip, I had 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 37 
 
 childishly torn it in pieces and thrown it away, it was 
 impossible to say where. 
 
 From the worst part of this dilemma I was relieved 
 by the sagacity of Tiger. Having got, after a long 
 search, a small piece of the note, I put it to the dog's 
 nose, and endeavoured to make him understand that he 
 must bring me the rest of it, To my astonishment (for 
 I had taught him none of the usual tricks for which his 
 breed are famous), he seemed to enter at once into my 
 meaning, and, rummaging about for a few moments, 
 soon found another considerable portion. Bringing me 
 this, he paused a while, and, rubbing his nose against rny 
 hand, appeared to be waiting for my approval of what he 
 had done. I patted him on the head, when he immedi 
 ately made off again. It was now some minutes before 
 he came back but when he did come, he brought with 
 him a large slip, which proved to be all the paper mis 
 sing it having been torn, it seems, only into three 
 pieces. Luckily, I had no trouble in finding what few frag 
 ments of the phosphorus were left being guided by the 
 indistinct glow one or two of the particles still emitted. 
 My difficulties had taught me the necessity of caution, 
 and I now took time to reflect upon what I was about to 
 do. It was very probable, I considered, that some 
 words were written upon that side of the paper which 
 had not been examined but which side was that 1 Fit 
 ting the pieces together gave me no clew in this respect, 
 although it assured me that the words (if there were any) 
 would be found all on one side, and connected in a 
 proper manner, as written. There was the greater ne 
 cessity of ascertaining the point in question beyond a 
 doubt, as the phosphorus remaining would be altogether 
 insufficient for a third attempt, should I fail in the one I 
 was now about to make. I placed the paper on a book 
 as before, and sat for some minutes thoughtfully revolv 
 ing the matter over in my mind. At last I thought it 
 barely possible that the written side might have some 
 unevenness on its surface, which a delicate sense of 
 feeling might enable me to detect. I determined to 
 make the experiment, and passed my finger very care- 
 D 
 
38 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 fully over the side which first presented itself nothing 
 however, was perceptible, and I turned the paper, ad 
 justing it on the book. I now again carried my fore 
 finger cautiously along, when I was aware of an exceed 
 ingly slight, but still discernible glow, which followed 
 as it proceeded. This, I knew, must arise from some 
 very minute remaining particles of the phosphorus with 
 which I had covered the paper in my previous attempt. 
 The other, or under side, then, was that on which lay 
 the writing, if writing there should finally prove to be. 
 Again I turned the note, and went to work as I had pre 
 viously done. Having rubbed in the phosphorus, a bril 
 liancy ensued as before but this time several lines of 
 MS. in a large hand, and apparently in red ink, became 
 distinctly visible. The glimmer, although sufficiently 
 bright, was but momentary. Still, had I not been too 
 greatly excited, there would have been ample time enough 
 for me to peruse the whole three sentences before me 
 for I saw there were three. In my anxiety, however, to 
 read all at once, I succeeded only in reading the seven 
 concluding words, which thus appeared : " blood your 
 life depends upon lying close." 
 
 Had I been able to ascertain the entire contents of 
 the note the full meaning of the admonition which my 
 friend had thus attempted to convey, that admonition, 
 even although it should have revealed a story of disaster 
 the most unspeakable, could not, I am firmly convinced, 
 have imbued my mind with one tithe of the harrowing 
 and yet indefinable horror with which I was inspired by 
 the fragmentary warning thus received. And "blood" 
 too, that word of all words so rife at all times with 
 mystery, and suffering, and terror how trebly full of 
 import did it now appear how chillily and heavily (dis 
 jointed, as it thus was, from any foregoing words to 
 qualify or render it distinct) did its vague syllables fall, 
 amid the deep gloom of my prison, into the innermost 
 recesses of my soul ! 
 
 Augustus had, undoubtedly, good reasons for wishing 
 me to remain concealed, and I formed a thousand sur 
 mises as to what they could be but I could think of 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 39 
 
 nothing affording a satisfactory solution of the mystery. 
 Just after returning from my last journey to the trap, 
 and before my attention had been otherwise directed by 
 the singular conduct of Tiger, I had come to the reso 
 lution of making myself heard at all events by those on 
 board, or, if I could not succeed in this directly, of 
 trying to cut my way through the orlop deck. The half 
 certainty which I felt of being able to accomplish one of 
 these two purposes in the last emergency, had given me 
 courage (which I should not otherwise have had) to 
 endure the evils of my situation. The few words I had 
 been able to read, however, had cut me off from these 
 final resources, and I now, for the first time, felt all the 
 misery of my fate. In a paroxysm of despair I threw 
 myself again upon the mattress, where, for about the 
 period of a day and night, I lay in a kind of stupor, re 
 lieved only by momentary intervals of reason and recol 
 lection. 
 
 At length I once more arose, and busied myself in 
 reflection upon the horrors which encompassed me. 
 For another twenty-four hours it was barely possible 
 that I might exist without water for a longer time I 
 could not do so. During the first portion of my impris 
 onment I had made free use of the cordials with which 
 Augustus had supplied me, but they only served to ex 
 cite fever, without in the least degree assuaging my 
 thirst. I had now only about a gill left, and this was of 
 a species of strong peach liqueur at which my stomach 
 revolted. The sausages were entirely consumed ; of 
 the ham nothing remained but a small piece of the skin ; 
 and all the biscuit, except a few fragments of one, had 
 been eaten by Tiger. To add to my troubles, I found 
 that my headache was increasing momentarily, and with 
 it the species of delirium which had distressed me more 
 or less since my first falling asleep. For some hours 
 past it had been with the greatest difficulty I could breathe 
 at all, and now each attempt at so doing was attended 
 with the most distressing spasmodic action of the chest, 
 But there was still another and very different source of 
 disquietude, and one, indeed, whose harassing terrors 
 
40 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 had been the chief means of arousing me to exertion 
 from my stupor on the mattress. It arose from the de 
 meanour of the dog. 
 
 I first observed an alteration in his conduct while rub 
 bing in the phosphorus on the paper in my last attempt. 
 As I rubbed, he ran his nose against my hand with a 
 slight snarl ; but I was too greatly excited at the time 
 to pay much attention to the circumstance. Soon after 
 ward, it will be remembered, I threw myself on the 
 mattress, and fell into a species of lethargy. Presently 
 I became aware of a singular hissing sound close at my 
 ears, and discovered it to proceed from Tiger, who was 
 panting and wheezing in a state of the greatest apparent 
 excitement, his eyeballs flashing fiercely through the 
 gloom. I spoke to him, when he replied with a low 
 growl, and then remained quiet. Presently I relapsed 
 into my stupor, from which I was again awakened in a 
 similar manner. This was repeated three or four times, 
 until finally his behaviour inspired me with so great a de 
 gree of fear that I became fully aroused. He was now 
 lying close by the door of the box, snarling fearfully, al 
 though in a kind of under tone, and grinding his teeth as 
 if strongly convulsed. I had no doubt whatever that the 
 want of water or the confined atmosphere of the hold 
 had driven him mad, and I was at a loss what course to 
 pursue. I could not endure the thought of killing him, 
 yet it seemed absolutely necessary for my own safety. 
 I could distinctly perceive his eyes fastened upon me 
 with an expression of the most deadly animosity, and I 
 expected every instant that he would attack me. At 
 last I could endure my terrible situation no longer, and 
 determined to make my way from the box at all hazards, 
 and despatch him, if his opposition should render it ne 
 cessary for me to do so. To get out, I had to pass di 
 rectly over his body, and he already seemed to anticipate 
 my design raising himself upon his fore legs (as I per 
 ceived by the altered position of his eyes), and display 
 ing the whole of his white fangs, which were easily dis 
 cernible. I took the remains of the ham-skin, and the 
 bottle containing the liqueur, and secured them about 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 41 
 
 my person, together with a large carving-knife which 
 Augustus had left me then, folding my cloak as closely 
 around me as possible, I made a movement towards the 
 mouth of the box. No sooner did I do this than the dog 
 sprang with a loud growl towards my throat. The 
 whole weight of his body struck me on the right shoul 
 der, and I fell violently to the left, while the enraged 
 animal passed entirely over me. I had fallen upon my 
 knees, with my head buried among the blankets, and 
 these protected me from a second furious assault, during 
 which I felt the sharp teeth pressing vigorously upon 
 the woollen which enveloped my neck yet, luckily, 
 without being able to penetrate all the folds. I was 
 now beneath the dog, and a few moments would place 
 me completely in his power. Despair gave me strength, 
 and I rose bodily up, shaking him from me by main 
 force, and dragging with me the blankets from the mat 
 tress. These I now threw over him, and before he 
 could extricate himself I had got through the door and 
 closed it effectually against his pursuit. In this strug 
 gle, however, I had been forced to drop the morsel of 
 ham-skin, and I now found my whole stock of provis 
 ions reduced to a single gill of liqueur. As this reflec 
 tion crossed my mind, I felt myself actuated by one of 
 those fits of perverseness which might be supposed to 
 influence a spoiled child in similar circumstances, and, 
 raising the bottle to my lips, I drained it to the last drop, 
 and dashed it furiously upon the floor. 
 
 Scarcely had the echo of the crash died away, when 
 I heard my name pronounced in an eager but subdued 
 voice, issuing from the direction of the steerage. So 
 unexpected was anything of the kind, and so intense 
 was the emotion excited within me by the sound, that I 
 endeavoured in vain to reply. My powers of speech to 
 tally failed, and, in an agony of terror lest my friend 
 should conclude me dead, and return without attempting 
 to reach me, I stood up between the crates near the door 
 of the box, trembling convulsively, and gasping and 
 struggling for utterance. Had a thousand worlds de 
 pended upon a syllable, I could not have spoken it. 
 D2 
 
42 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 There was a slight movement now audible among the 
 lumber somewhere forward of my station. The sound 
 presently grew less distinct, then again less so, and still 
 less. Shall I ever forget my feelings at this moment 1 
 He was going my friend my companion, from whom 
 I had a right to expect so much he was going he 
 would abandon me he was gone ! He would leave me 
 to perish miserably, to expire in the most horrible and 
 loathsome of dungeons and one word one little sylla 
 ble would save me yet that single syllable I could not 
 utter ! I felt, I am sure, more than ten thousand times 
 the agonies of death itself. My brain reeled, and I fell, 
 .deadly sick, against the end of the box. 
 
 As I fell, the carving-knife was shaken out from the 
 waistband of my pantaloons, and dropped with a rattling 
 sound to the floor. Never did any strain of the richest 
 melody come so sweetly to my ears ! With the intensest 
 anxiety I listened to ascertain the effect of the noise 
 upon Augustus for I knew that the person who called 
 my name could be no one but himself. All was silent 
 for some moments. At length I again heard the word 
 Arthur ! repeated in a low tone, and one full of hesita 
 tion. Reviving hope loosened at once my powers of 
 speech, and I now screamed, at the top of my voice, 
 *' Augustus ! oh Augustus /" " Hush for God's sake 
 be silent !" he replied, in a voice trembling with agita 
 tion ; " I will be with you immediately as soon as I can 
 make my way through the hold." For a long time I 
 heard him moving among the lumber, and every moment 
 seemed to me an age. At length I felt his hand upon 
 my shoulder, and he placed at the same moment a bottle 
 of water to my lips. Those only who have been sud 
 denly redeemed from the jaws of the tomb, or who have 
 known the insufferable torments of thirst under circum 
 stances as aggravated as those which encompassed me 
 in my dreary prison, can form any idea of the unuttera 
 ble transports which that one long draught of the richest 
 of all physical luxuries afforded. 
 
 When I had in some degree satisfied my thirst, Au 
 gustus produced from his pocket three or four cold 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 43 
 
 boiled potatoes, which I devoured with the greatest avid 
 ity. He had brought with him a light in a dark lantern, 
 and the grateful rays afforded me scarcely less comfort 
 than the food and drink. But I was impatient to learn 
 the cause of his protracted absence, and he proceeded 
 to recount what had happened on board during my incar 
 ceration. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 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 discov 
 ered. 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 he felt but little uneasiness on my ac 
 count 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 Bar 
 nard, whether he would riot immediately put back if he 
 discovered me to be on board. Besides, upon thinking 
 the matter over, Augustus, so he told me, could not im 
 agine that I was in immediate want, or that I would hesi 
 tate, 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 
 
44 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 calcula 
 tions 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 in 
 clined 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 mean while 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, there 
 fore, upon reflection, to ascend, and await another oppor 
 tunity 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. Ho 
 had just made up his mind on these points when his at 
 tention was arrested by an unusual bustle, the sound of 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 45 
 
 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 mdf- 
 ment, 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 compan 
 ion-way with his head down, and a deep wound in the 
 forehead, from which the blood was flowing in a contin 
 ued stream. He spoke not a word, and was apparently 
 dying. Over him stood the first mate, eying 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 negro) were rum 
 maging the staterooms on the larboard for arms, where 
 they soon equipped themselves with muskets and ammu 
 nition. 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 pro 
 ceeded 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 prom- 
 
46 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ises, 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 ef 
 fectually before more than six of their opponents could 
 get up. These six, finding themselves so greatly out 
 numbered 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 vil- 
 lany. All in the forecastle presently signified their in 
 tention of submitting, and, ascending one by one, were 
 pinioned and 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 remain 
 ing 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 
 survivers, 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 favour 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 him 
 self), would listen to no proposition of the kind, and 
 rose repeatedly for the purpose of resuming his work at 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 47 
 
 the gangway. Fortunately, he was so far overcome by 
 intoxication as to be easily restrained by the less blood 
 thirsty 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. Peters himself 
 was one of the most purely ferocious-looking men I ever 
 beheld. He was short in stature not more than four 
 feet eight inches high but his limbs were of the most 
 Herculean mould. His hands, especially, were so enor 
 mously 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 flexi 
 bility whatever. His head was equally deformed, being 
 of immense size, with an indentation on the crown (like 
 that on the head of most negroes), 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 char 
 acter. 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 ex 
 ceedingly 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 con 
 vulsed 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. 
 
48 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 Gram 
 pus, 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 be 
 cause 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 1 proceed in 
 utter hopelessness of obtaining credence for all that 1 
 shall tell, yet confidently trusting in time and progres 
 sing science to verify some of the most important and 
 most improbable of my statements. 
 
 After much indecision and two or three violent quar 
 rels, it was determined at last that all the prisoners 
 (with the exception of Augustus, whom Peters insisted 
 in a jocular manner upon keeping as bis clerk) should 
 be set adrift in one of the smallest whaleboats. The 
 mate went down into the cabin to see if Captain Bar 
 nard 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, en 
 treated 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 Au 
 gustus being still left in his painful position, although he 
 struggled artd prayed only for the poor satisfaction of 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 49 
 
 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 muti 
 neers 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 30' north, longitude 61 20' west, and consequently 
 at no very great distance from the Bermuda Islands. 
 Augustus therefore endeavoured 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 inter 
 cepted 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 intoxi 
 cated, and there was no relying upon their continued 
 good-humour or carelessness in regard to himself. His 
 anxiety on my account he 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 muti 
 neers with the secret of my being on board, but was re 
 strained 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 
 E 
 
50 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 state 
 room. What was his grief and horror in discovering 
 that the latter had been rendered a place of deposite for 
 a variety of sea-stores and ship-furniture, and that sev 
 eral 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 im 
 mediately upon the trap ! To remove it without discov 
 ery was impossible, and he returned on deck as quickly 
 as he could. As he 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 bul 
 wark, when his life was again preserved through the in 
 terference 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 ex 
 pression of the cook, who threw him into the berth 
 it is hardly possible to say what precise meaning was 
 intended by the phrase. The whole affair, however, 
 proved the ultimate means of my relief, as will presently 
 appear. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FOR some minutes after the cook had left the fore 
 castle, Augustus abandoned himself to despair, never 
 hoping to leave the berth alive. He now came to the 
 resolution of acquainting the first of the men who should 
 come down with my situation, thinking it better to let 
 me take my chance with the mutineers than perish of 
 thirst in the hold for it had been ten days since I was 
 first imprisoned, and my jug of water was not a plentiful 
 supply even for four. As he was thinking on this sub 
 ject, the idea came all at once into his head that it might 
 be possible to communicate with me by the way of the 
 main hold. In any other circumstances, the difficulty 
 and hazard of the undertaking would have prevented 
 him from attempting it ; but now he had, at all events, 
 little prospect of life, and consequently little to lose he 
 bent his whole mind, therefore, upon the task. 
 
 His handcuffs were the first consideration. At first 
 he saw no method of removing them, and feared that he 
 should thus be baffled in the very outset ; but, upon a 
 closer scrutiny, he discovered that the irons could be 
 slipped off and on at pleasure with very little effort or 
 inconvenience, merely by squeezing his hands through 
 them this species of manacle being altogether ineffect 
 ual in confining young persons, in whom the smaller 
 bones readily yield to pressure. He now untied his 
 feet, and, leaving the cord in such a manner that it 
 could easily be readjusted in the event of any person's 
 coming down, proceeded to examine the bulkhead where 
 it joined the berth. The partition here was of soft pine 
 board, an inch thick, and he saw that he should have 
 little trouble in cutting his way through. A voice was 
 now heard at the forecastle companion-way, and he 
 had just time to put his right hand into its handcuff (the 
 left had not been removed), and to draw the rope in a 
 
52 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 slipknot around his ankle, when Dirk Peters came be 
 low, followed by Tiger, who immediately leaped into the 
 berth and lay down. The dog had been brought on 
 board by Augustus, who knew my attachment to the an 
 imal, and thought it would give me pleasure to have him 
 with me during the voyage. He went up to our house 
 for him immediately after first taking me into the hold, 
 but did not think of mentioning the circumstance upon 
 his bringing the watch. Since the mutiny, Augustus 
 had not seen him before his appearance with Dirk Peters, 
 and had given him up for lost, supposing him to have 
 been thrown overboard by some of the malignant villains 
 belonging to the mate's gang. It appeared afterward 
 that he had crawled into a hole beneath a whaleboat, 
 from which, not having room to turn round, he could not 
 extricate himself. Peters at last let him out, and with 
 a species of good feeling which my friend knew well 
 how to appreciate, had now brought him to him in the 
 forecastle as a companion, leaving at the same time 
 some salt junk and potatoes, with a can of water ; he then 
 went on deck, promising to come down with something 
 more to eat on the next day. , 
 
 When he had gone, Augustus freed both hands from 
 the manacles and unfastened his feet. He then turned 
 down the head of the mattress on which he had been ly 
 ing, and with his penknife (for the ruffians had not thought 
 it worth while to search him) commenced cutting vigor 
 ously across one of the partition planks, as closely as 
 possible to the floor of the berth. He chose to cut here, 
 because, if suddenly interrupted, he would be able to con 
 ceal what had been done by letting the head of the mat 
 tress fall into its proper position. For the remainder of 
 the day, however, no disturbance occurred, and by night 
 he had completely divided the plank. It should here be 
 observed, that none of the crew occupied the forecastle 
 as a sleeping-place, living altogether in the cabin since 
 the mutiny, drinking the wines, and feasting on the sea- 
 stores of Captain Barnard, and giving no more heed than 
 was absolutely necessary to the navigation of the brig. 
 These circumstances proved fortunate both for myself 
 
A, GORDON PYM, 63 
 
 and Augustus ; for, had matters been otherwise, he would 
 have found it impossible to reach me. As it was, he 
 proceeded with confidence in his design. It was near 
 daybreak, however, before he completed the second di 
 vision of the board (which was about a foot above the 
 first cutj, thus making an aperture quite large enough to 
 admit his passage through with facility to the main orlop 
 deck. Having got here, he made his way with but little 
 trouble to the lower main hatch, although in so doing he 
 had to scramble over tiers of oil-casks piled nearly as 
 high as the upper deck, there being barely room enough 
 left for his body. Upon reaching the hatch, he found 
 that Tiger had followed him below, squeezing between 
 two rows of the casks. It was now too late, however, 
 to attempt geting to me before dawn, as the chief diffi 
 culty lay in passing through the close stowage in the 
 lower hold. He therefore resolved to return, and wait 
 till the next night. With this design he proceeded to 
 loosen the hatch, so that he might have as little detention 
 as possible when he should come again. No sooner 
 had he loosened it than Tiger sprang eagerly to the 
 small opening produced, snuffed for a moment, and then 
 uttered a long whine, scratching at the same time, as if 
 anxious to remove the covering with his paws. There 
 could be no doubt, from his behaviour, that he was 
 aware of my being in the hold, and Augustus thought it 
 possible that he would be able to get to me if he put him 
 down. He now hit upon the expedient of sending the 
 note, as it was especially desirable that I should make 
 no attempt at forcing my way out, at least under ex 
 isting circumstances, and there could be no certainty of 
 his getting to me himself on the morrow as he intended. 
 After events proved how fortunate it was that the idea 
 occurred to him as it did : for, had it not been for the 
 receipt of the note, I should undoubtedly have fallen 
 upon some plan, however desperate, of alarming the 
 crew, and both our lives would most probably have been 
 sacrificed in consequence. 
 
 Having concluded to write, the difficulty was now to 
 procure the materials for so doing. An old toothpick 
 E 2 
 
54 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 was soon made into a pen ; and this by means of feeling 
 altogether, for the between-decks were as dark as pitch. 
 Paper enough was obtained from the back of a letter 
 a duplicate of the forged letter from Mr. Ross. This 
 had been the original draught ; but the handwriting not 
 being sufficiently well imitated, Augustus had written 
 another, thrusting the first, by good fortune, into his 
 coat-pocket, where it was now, most opportunely discov 
 ered. Ink alone was thus wanting, and a substitute 
 was immediately found for this by means of a slight in 
 cision with the penknife on the back of a finger just 
 above the nail a copious flow of blood ensuing, as 
 usual from wounds in that vicinity. The note was now 
 written, as well as it could be in the dark and under the 
 circumstances. It briefly explained that a mutiny had 
 taken place ; that Captain Barnard was set adrift ; and 
 that I might expect immediate relief as far as provisions 
 were concerned, but must not venture upon making any 
 disturbance. It concluded with these words, " / have 
 scrawled this with blood your life depends upon lying 
 dose." 
 
 The slip of paper being tied upon tfie dog, he was 
 now put down the hatchway, and Augustus made the 
 best of his way back to the forecastle, where he found 
 no reason to believe that any of the crew had been in 
 his absence. To conceal the hole in the partition, he 
 drove his knife in just above it, and hung up a pea-jacket 
 which he found in the berth. His handcuffs were then 
 replaced, and also the rope around his ankles. 
 
 These arrangements were scarcely completed when 
 Dirk Peters came below, very drunk, but in excellent 
 humour, and bringing with him my friend's allowance of 
 provision for the day. This consisted of a dozen large 
 Irish potatoes roasted, and a pitcher of water. He sat 
 for some time on a chest by the berth, and talked freely 
 about the mate, and the general concerns of the brig. 
 His demeanour was exceedingly capricious and even 
 grotesque. At one time Augustus was much alarmed by 
 his odd conduct. At last, however, he went on deck, 
 muttering a promise to bring his prisoner a good dinner 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 55 
 
 on the morrow. During the day two of the crew (har- 
 pooners) came down, accompanied by the cook, all three 
 in nearly the last stage of intoxication. Like Peters, 
 they made no scruple of talking unreservedly about their 
 plans. It appeared that they were much divided among 
 themselves as to their ultimate course, agreeing in no 
 point except the attack on the ship from the Cape Verd 
 Islands, with which they were in hourly expectation of 
 meeting. As far as could be ascertained, the mutiny 
 had not been brought about altogether for the sake of 
 booty ; a private pique of the chief mate's against Cap 
 tain Barnard having been the main instigation. There 
 now seemed to be two principal factions among the crew 
 one headed by the mate, the other by the cook. The 
 former party were for seizing the first suitable vessel 
 which should present itself, and equipping it at some of 
 the West India Islands for a piratical cruise. The latter 
 division, however, which was the stronger, and included 
 Dirk Peters among its partisans, were bent upon pursu 
 ing the course originally laid out for the brig into the 
 South Pacific ; there either to take whale, or act other 
 wise, as circumstances should suggest. The represent 
 ations of Peters, who had frequently visited these re 
 gions, had great weight, apparently, with the mutineers, 
 wavering as they were between half-engendered notions 
 of profit and pleasure. He dwelt on the world of nov 
 elty and amusement to be found among the innumerable 
 islands of the Pacific, on the perfect security and freedom 
 from all restraint to be enjoyed, but, more particularly, 
 on the deliciousness of the climate, on the abundant 
 means of good living, and on the voluptuous beauty of 
 the women. As yet, nothing had been absolutely deter 
 mined upon ; but the pictures of the hybrid line-manager 
 were taking strong hold upon the ardent imaginations of 
 the seamen, and there was every probability that his in 
 tentions would be finally carried into effect. 
 
 The three men went away in about an hour, and no 
 one else entered the forecastle all day. Augustus lay 
 quiet until nearly night. He then freed himself from 
 the rope and irons, and prepared for his attempt. A 
 
56 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 bottle was found in one of the berths, and this he filled 
 with water from the pitcher left by Peters, storing his 
 pockets at the same time with cold potatoes. To his 
 great joy he also came across a lantern, with a small 
 piece of tallow candle in it. This he could light at any 
 moment, as he had in his possession a box of phosphorus 
 matches. When it was quite dark, he got through the 
 hole in the bulkhead, having taken the precaution to ar 
 range the bedclothes in the berth so as to convey the 
 idea of a person covered up. When through, he hung 
 up the pea-jacket on his knife, as before, to conceal the 
 aperture this manoeuvre being easily effected, as he did 
 not readjust the piece of plank taken out until afterward. 
 He was now on the main orlop deck, and proceeded to 
 make his way, as before, between the upper deck and 
 the oil-casks to the main hatchway. Having reached 
 this, he lit the piece of candle, and descended, groping 
 with extreme difficulty among the compact stowage of 
 the hold. In a few moments he became alarmed at the 
 insufferable stench and the closeness of the atmosphere. 
 He could not think it possible that I had survived my 
 confinement for so long a period breathing so oppressive 
 an air. He called my name repeatedly, but I made him 
 no reply, and his apprehensions seemed thus to be con 
 firmed. The brig was rolling violently, and there was 
 so much noise in consequence, that it was useless to 
 listen for any weak sound, such as those of my breathing 
 or snoring. He threw open the lantern, and held it as high 
 as possible, whenever an opportunity occurred, in order 
 that, by observing the light, I might, if alive, be aware that 
 succour was approaching. Still nothing was heard from 
 me, and the supposition of my death began to assume 
 the character of certainty. He determined, nevertheless, 
 to force a passage, if possible, to the box, and at least 
 ascertain beyond a doubt the truth of his surmises. He 
 pushed on for some time in a most pitiable state of anx 
 iety, until, at length, he found the pathway utterly 
 blocked up, and that there was no possibility of making 
 any farther way by the course in which he had set out. 
 Overcome now by his feelings, he threw himself among 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 57 
 
 the lumber in despair, and wept like a child. It was at 
 this period that he heard the crash occasioned by the 
 bottle which I had thrown down. Fortunate, indeed, 
 was it that the incident occurred for, upon this incident, 
 trivial as it appears, the thread of my destiny depended. 
 Many years elapsed, however, before I was aware of 
 this fact. A natural shame and regret for his weakness 
 and indecision prevented Augustus from confiding to me 
 at once what a more intimate and unreserved commu 
 nion afterward induced him to reveal. Upon finding his 
 further progress in the hold impeded by obstacles which 
 he could not overcome, he had resolved to abandon his 
 attempt at reaching me, and return at once to the fore 
 castle. Before condemning him entirely on this head, 
 the harassing circumstances which embarrassed him 
 should be taken into consideration. The night was fast 
 wearing away, and his absence from the forecastle might 
 be discovered ; and, indeed, would necessarily be so, if 
 he should fail to get back to the berth by daybreak. 
 His candle was expiring in the socket, and there would 
 be the greatest difficulty in retracing his way to the 
 hatchway in the dark. It must be allowed, too, that he 
 had every good reason to believe me dead ; in which 
 event no benefit could result to me from his reaching 
 the box, and a world of danger would be encountered to 
 no purpose by himself. He had repeatedly called, and I 
 had made him no answer. I had been now eleven days 
 and nights with no more water than that contained in the 
 jug which he had left with me, a supply which it was 
 not at all probable I had hoarded in the beginning of my 
 confinement, as I had had every cause to expect a 
 speedy release. The atmosphere of the hold, too, must 
 have appeared to him, coming from the comparatively 
 open air of the steerage, of a nature absolutely poison 
 ous, and by far more intolerable than it had seemed to 
 me upon my first taking up my quarters in the box the 
 hatchways at that time having been constantly open for 
 many months previous. Add to these considerations 
 that of the scene of bloodshed and terror so lately wit 
 nessed by my friend ; his confinement, privations, and 
 
58 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 narrow escapes from death ; together with the frail and 
 equivocal tenure by which he still existed circumstan 
 ces all so well calculated to prostrate every energy of 
 mind and the reader will be easily brought, as I have 
 been, to regard his apparent falling off in friendship and 
 in faith with sentiments rather of sorrow than of anger. 
 
 The crash of the bottle was distinctly heard, yet Au 
 gustus was not sure that it proceeded from the hold. 
 The doubt, however, was sufficient inducement to perse 
 vere. He clambered up nearly to the orlop deck by 
 means of the stowage, and then watching for a lull in 
 the pitchings of the vessel, he called out to me in as 
 loud a tone as he could command regardless, for the 
 moment, of the danger of being overheard by the crew. 
 It will be remembered that on this occasion the voice 
 reached me, but I was so entirely overcome by violent 
 agitation as to be incapable of reply. Confident, now, 
 that his worst apprehensions were well founded, he de 
 scended, with a view of getting back to the forecastle 
 without loss of time. In his haste some small boxes 
 were thrown down, the noise occasioned by which I 
 heard, as will be recollected. He had made considera 
 ble progress on his return when the fall of the knife 
 again caused him to hesitate. He retraced his steps im 
 mediately, and, clambering up the stowage a second 
 time, called out my name, loudly as before, having 
 watched for a lull. This time I found voice to answer. 
 Overjoyed at discovering me to be still alive, he now re 
 solved to brave every difficulty and danger in reaching 
 me. Having extricated himself as quickly as possible 
 from the labyrinth of lumber by which he was hemmed 
 in, he at length struck into an opening which promised 
 better, and finally, after a series of struggles, arrived at 
 the box in a state of utter exhaustion. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 59 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE leading particulars of this narration were all that 
 Augustus communicated to me while we remained near 
 the box. It was not until afterward that he entered 
 fully into all the details. He was apprehensive of being 
 missed, and I was wild with impatience to leave my de 
 tested place of confinement. We resolved to make our 
 way at once to the hole in the bulkhead, near which I 
 was to remain for the present, while he went through to 
 reconnoitre. To leave Tiger in the box was what 
 neither of us could endure to think of; yet, how to act 
 otherwise was the question. He now seemed to be 
 perfectly quiet, and we could not even distinguish the 
 sound of his breathing upon applying our ears closely to 
 the box. I was convinced that he was dead, and deter 
 mined to open the door. We found him lying at full 
 length, apparently in a deep stupor, yet still alive. No 
 time was to be lost, yet I could not bring myself to 
 abandon an animal who had now been twice instrumen 
 tal in saving my life, without some attempt at preser 
 ving him. We therefore dragged him along with us as 
 well as we could, although with the greatest difficulty 
 and fatigue ; Augustus, during part of the time, being 
 forced to clamber over the impediments in our way with 
 the huge dog in his arms a feat to which the feebleness 
 of my frame rendered me totally inadequate. At length 
 we succeeded in reaching the hole, when Augustus got 
 through, and Tiger was pushed in afterward. All was 
 found to be safe, and we did not fail to return sincere 
 thanks to God for our deliverance from the imminent 
 danger we had escaped. For the present it was agreed 
 that I should remain near the opening, through which 
 my companion could readily supply me with a part of 
 his daily provision, and where I could have the advan 
 tages of breathing an atmosphere comparatively pure. 
 
60 
 
 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 In explanation of some portions of this narrative 
 wherein I have spoken of the stowage of the brig, and 
 which may appear ambiguous to some of my readers 
 who may have seen a proper or regular stowage, I must 
 here state that the manner in which this most important 
 duty had been performed on board the Grampus was a 
 most shameful piece of neglect on the part of Captain 
 Barnard, who was by no means as careful or as experi 
 enced a seaman as the hazardous nature of the service 
 on which he was employed would seem necessarily to 
 demand. A proper stowage cannot be accomplished in 
 a careless manner, and many most disastrous accidents, 
 even within the limits of my own experience, have arisen 
 from neglect or ignorance in this particular. Coasting 
 vessels, in the frequent hurry and bustle attendant upon 
 taking in or discharging cargo, are the most liable to 
 mishap from the want of a proper attention to stowage. 
 The great point is to allow no possibility of the cargo or 
 ballast's shifting position even in the most violent rollings 
 of the vessel. With this end, great attention must be 
 paid, not only to the bulk taken in, but to the nature of 
 the bulk, and whether there be a full or only a partial 
 cargo. In most kinds of freight the stowage is accom 
 plished by means of a screw. Thus, in a load of to 
 bacco or flour, the whole is screwed so tightly into the 
 hold of the vessel that the barrels or hogsheads upon 
 discharging are found to be completely flattened, and 
 take some time to regain their original shape. This 
 screwing, however, is resorted to principally with a view 
 of obtaining more room in the hold ; for in a full load of 
 any such commodities as flour or tobacco, there can be 
 no danger of any shifting whatever, at least none from 
 which inconvenience can result. There have been in 
 stances, indeed, where this method of screwing has re 
 sulted in the most lamentable consequences, arising from 
 a cause altogether distinct from the danger attendant 
 upon a shifting of cargo. A load of cotton, for ex 
 ample, tightly screwed while in certain conditions, has 
 been known, through the expansion of its bulk, to rend 
 a vessel asunder at sea. There can be no doubt, either, 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 61 
 
 that the same result would ensue in the case of tobacco, 
 while undergoing its usual course of fermentation, were 
 it not for the interstices consequent upon the rotundity of 
 the hogsheads. 
 
 It is when a partial cargo is received that danger is 
 chiefly to be apprehended from shifting, and that precau 
 tions should be always taken to guard against such mis 
 fortune. Only those who have encountered a violent 
 gale of wind, or, rather, who have experienced the rolling 
 of a vessel in a sudden calm after the gale, can form an 
 idea of the tremendous force of the plunges, and of the 
 consequent terrible impetus given to all loose articles in 
 the vessel. It is then that the necessity of a cautious 
 stowage, when there is a partial cargo, becomes obvious. 
 When lying to (especially with a small head sail), a 
 vessel which is not properly modelled in the bows is 
 frequently thrown upon her beam-ends ; this occurring 
 even every fifteen or twenty minutes upon an average, 
 yet without any serious consequences resulting, provided 
 there "be a proper stowage. If this, however, has not 
 been strictly attended to, in the first of these heavy 
 lurches the whole of the cargo tumbles over to the side 
 of the vessel which lies upon the water, and, being thus 
 prevented from regaining her equilibrium, as she would 
 otherwise necessarily do, she is certain to fill in a few 
 seconds and go down. It is* not too much to say that 
 at least one half of the instances in which vessels have 
 foundered in heavy gales at sea may be attributed to a 
 shifting of cargo or of ballast. 
 
 When a partial cargo of any kind is taken on board, 
 the whole, after being first stowed as compactly as may 
 be, should be covered with a layer of stout shifting- 
 boards, extending completely across the vessel. Upon 
 these boards strong temporary stanchions should be 
 erected, reaching to the timbers above, and thus securing 
 everything in its place. In cargoes consisting of grain, 
 or any similar matter, additional precautions are requi 
 site. A hold filled entirely with grain upon leaving 
 port will be found not more than three fourths full upon 
 leaching its destination this, too, although the freight, 
 F 
 

 62 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 when measured bushel by bushel by the consignee, will 
 overrun by a vast deal (on account of the swelling of the 
 grain) the quantity consigned. This result is occasioned 
 by settling during the voyage, and is the more percepti 
 ble in proportion to the roughness of the weather expe 
 rienced. If grain loosely thrown in a vessel, then, is 
 ever so well secured by shifting-boards and stanchions, 
 it will be liable to shift in a long passage so greatly as 
 to bring about the most distressing calamities. To pre 
 vent these, every method should be employed before 
 leaving port to settle the cargo as much as possible ; 
 and for this there are many contrivances, among which 
 may be mentioned the driving of wedges into the grain. 
 Even after all this is done, and unusual pains taken to 
 secure the shifting-boards, no seaman who knows what 
 he is about will feel altogether secure in a gale of any 
 violence with a cargo of grain on board, and, least of all, 
 with a partial cargo. Yet there are hundreds of our 
 coasting vessels, and, it is likely, many more from the 
 ports of Europe, which sail daily with partial cargoes, 
 even of the most dangerous species, and without any 
 precautions whatever. The wonder is that no more ac 
 cidents occur than do actually happen. A lamentable 
 instance of this heedlessness occurred to my knowledge 
 in the case of Captain Joel Rice of the schooner Fire 
 fly, which sailed from Richmond, Virginia, to Madeira, 
 with a cargo of corn, in the year 1825. The captain 
 had gone many voyages without serious accident, al 
 though he was in the habit of paying no attention what 
 ever to his stowage, more than to secure it in the ordi 
 nary manner. He had never before sailed with a cargo 
 of grain, and on this occasion had the corn thrown on 
 board loosely, when it did not much more than half fill 
 the vessel. For the first portion of the voyage he met 
 with nothing more than light breezes ; but when within 
 a day's sail of Madeira there came on a strong gale 
 from the N. N. E. which forced him to lie to. He 
 brought the schooner to the wind under a double-reefed 
 foresail alone, when she rode as well as any vessel 
 could be expected to do, and shipped not a drop of water. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 63 
 
 Towards night the gale somewhat abated, and she rolled 
 with more unsteadiness than before, but still did very 
 we]l, until a heavy lurch threw her upon her beam-ends 
 to starboard. The corn was then heard to shift bodily, 
 the force of the movement bursting open the main hatch 
 way. The vessel went down like a shot. This hap 
 pened within hail of a small sloop from Madeira, which 
 picked up one of the crew (the only person saved), and 
 which rode out the gale in perfect security, as indeed a 
 jollyboat might have done under proper management. 
 
 The stowage on board the Grampus was most clumsily 
 done, if stowage that could be called which was little 
 better than a promiscuous huddling together of oil-casks* 
 and ship furniture. I have already spoken of the condi 
 tion of articles in the hold. On the orlop deck there 
 was space enough for my body (as I have stated) be 
 tween the oil-casks and the upper deck ; a space was 
 left open around the main hatchway ; and several other 
 large spaces were left in the stowage. Near the hole 
 cut through the bulkhead by Augustus there was room 
 enough for an entire cask, and in this space I found 
 myself comfortably situated for the present. 
 
 By the time my friend had got safely into the berth, 
 and readjusted his handcuffs and the rope, it was broad 
 daylight. We had made a narrow escape indeed ; for 
 scarcely had he arranged all matters, when the mate 
 came below, with Dirk Peters and the cook. They talk 
 ed for some time about the vessel from the Cape Verds, and 
 seemed to be excessively anxious for her appearance. 
 At length the cook came to the berth in which Augustus 
 was lying, and seated himself in it near the head. I 
 could see and hear everything from my hiding-place, for 
 the piece cut out had not been put back, and I was in 
 momentary expectation that the negro would fall against 
 the pea-jacket, which was hung up to conceal the aper 
 ture, in which case all would have been discovered, and 
 our lives would, no doubt, have been instantly sacrificed. 
 Our good fortune prevailed, however ; and although he 
 
 * Whaling vessels are usually fitted with iron oil-tankswhy the 
 Grampus was not I have never been able to ascertain. 
 
64 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 frequently touched it as the vessel rolled, he never 
 pressed against it sufficiently to bring about a discovery. 
 The bottom of the jacket had been carefully fastened to 
 the bulkhead, so that the hole might not be seen by its 
 swinging to one side. All this time Tiger was lying in 
 the foot of the berth, and appeared to have recovered in 
 some measure his faculties, for I could see him occa 
 sionally open his eyes and draw a long breath. 
 
 After a few minutes the mate and cook went above, 
 leaving Dirk Peters behind, who, as soon as they were 
 gone, came and sat himself down in the place just occu 
 pied by the mate. He began to talk very sociably with 
 Augustus, and we could now see that the greater part of 
 his apparent intoxication, while the two others were with 
 him, was a feint. He answered all my companion's 
 questions with perfect freedom ; told him that he had no 
 doubt of his father's having been picked up, as there 
 were no less than five sail in sight just before sundown 
 on the day he was cut adrift ; and used other language 
 of a consolatory nature, which occasioned me no less 
 surprise than pleasure. Indeed, I began to entertain 
 hopes, that through the instrumentality of Peters we 
 might be finally enabled to regain possession of the brig, 
 and this idea I mentioned to Augustus as soon as I 
 found an opportunity. He thought the matter possible, 
 but urged the necessity of the greatest caution in making 
 the attempt, as the conduct of the hybrid appeared to be 
 instigated by the most arbitrary caprice alone ; and, in 
 deed, it was difficult to say if he was at any moment of 
 sound mind. Peters went upon deck in about an hour, 
 and did not return again until noon, when he brought 
 Augustus a plentiful supply of junk beef and pudding. 
 Of this, when we were left alone, I partook heartily, 
 without returning through the hole. No one else came 
 down into the forecastle during the day, and at night I got 
 into Augustus's berth, where I slept soundly and sweetly 
 until nearly daybreak, when he awakened me upon hearing 
 a stir upon deck, and I regained my hiding-place as quickly 
 as possible. When the day was fully broke, we found that 
 Tiger had recovered his strength almost entirely, and gave 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 65 
 
 no indications of hydrophobia, drinking a little water that 
 was offered him with great apparent eagerness. During the 
 day he regained all his former vigour and appetite. His 
 strange conduct had been brought on, no doubt, by the dele 
 terious quality of the air of the hold, and had no connexion 
 with canine madness. I could not sufficiently rejoice 
 that I had persisted in bringing him with me from the 
 box. This day was the thirtieth of June, and the thir 
 teenth since the Grampus made sail from Nantucket. 
 
 On the second of July the mate came below, drunk as 
 usual, and in an excessively good-humour. He came to 
 Augustus's berth, and, giving him a slap on the back, 
 asked him if he thought he could behave himself if he 
 let him loose, and whether he would promise not to be 
 going into the cabin again. To this, of course, my friend 
 answered in the affirmative, when the ruffian set him at 
 liberty, after making him drink from a flask of rum 
 which he drew from his coat-pocket. Both now went 
 on, deck, and I did not see Augustus for about three 
 hours. He then came below with the good news that 
 he had obtained permission to go about the brig as he 
 pleased anywhere forward of the mainmast, and that he 
 had been ordered to sleep, as usual, in the forecastle. 
 He brought me, too, a good dinner, and a plentiful supply 
 of water. The brig was still cruising for the vessel from 
 the Cape Verds, and a sail was now in sight which was 
 thought to be the one in question. As the events of the 
 ensuing eight days were of little importance, and had no 
 direct bearing upon the main incidents of my narrative, I 
 will here throw them into the form of a journal, as I do 
 not wish to omit them altogether. 
 
 July 3. Augustus furnished me with three blankets, 
 with which I contrived a comfortable bed in my hiding- 
 place. No one came below, except my companion, du 
 ring the day. Tiger took his station in the berth just by 
 the aperture, and slept heavily, as if not yet entirely re 
 covered from the effects of his sickness. Towards 
 night a flaw of wind struck the brig before sail could be 
 taken in, and very nearly capsized her. The puff died 
 away immediately, however, and no damage was done 
 G2 
 
66 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 beyond the splitting of the foretopsail. Dirk Peters 
 treated Augustus all this day with great kindness, and 
 entered into a long conversation with him respecting the 
 Pacific Ocean, and the islands he had visited in that re 
 gion. He asked him whether he would not like to go 
 with the mutineers on a kind of exploring and pleasure 
 voyage in those quarters, and said that the men were 
 gradually coming over to the mate's views. To this 
 Augustus thought it best to reply that he would be glad 
 to go on such an adventure, since nothing better could be 
 done, and that anything was preferable to a piratical 
 life. 
 
 July 4th. The vessel in sight proved to be a small 
 brig from Liverpool, and was allowed to pass unmolest 
 ed. Augustus spent most of his time on deck, with a 
 view of obtaining all the information in his power re 
 specting the intentions of the mutineers. They had fre 
 quent and violent quarrels among themselves, in one of 
 which a harpooner, Jim Bonner, was thrown overboard. 
 The party of the mate was gaining ground. Jim Bonner 
 belonged to the cook's gang, of which Peters was a par 
 tisan. , 
 
 Jvly 5th. About daybreak there came on a stiff 
 breeze from the west, which at noon freshened into a 
 gale, so that the brig could carry nothing more than her 
 trysail and foresail. In taking in the foretopsail, Simms, 
 one of the common hands, and belonging also to the 
 book's gang, fell overboard, being very much in liquor, 
 and was drowned no attempt being made to save him. 
 The whole number of persons on board was now thir 
 teen, to wit : Dirk Peters ; Seymour, the black cook ; 
 Jones ; Greely ; Hartman Rogers ; and Will 
 iam Allen, of the cook's party ; the mate, whose name 
 
 I never learned ; Absalom Hicks ; Wilson ; John 
 
 Hunt ; and Richard Parker, of the mate's party besides 
 Augustus and myself. 
 
 July 6th. The gale lasted all this day, blowing in 
 heavy squalls, accompanied with rain. The brig took in 
 a good deal of water through her seams, and one of the 
 pumps was kept continually going, Augustus being 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 67 
 
 forced to take his turn. Just at twilight a large ship 
 passed close by us, without having been discovered until 
 within hail. This ship was supposed to be the one for 
 which the mutineers were on the look-out. The mate 
 hailed her, but the reply was drowned in the roaring of 
 the gale. At eleven, a sea was shipped amid-ships, 
 which tore away a great portion of the larboard bul 
 warks, and did some other slight damage. Towards 
 morning the weather moderated, and at sunrise there 
 was very little wind. 
 
 July 7th. There was a heavy swell running all this 
 day, during which the brig, being light, rolled exces 
 sively, and many articles broke loose in the hold, as I 
 could hear distinctly from my hiding-place. I suffered 
 a great deal from sea-sickness. Peters had a long con 
 versation this day with Augustus, and told him that two 
 of his gang, Greely and Allen, had gone over to the 
 mate, and were resolved to turn pirates. He put several 
 questions to Augustus which he did not then exactly un 
 derstand. During a part of this evening the leak gained 
 upon the vessel ; and little could be done to remedy it, 
 as it was occasioned by the brig's straining, and taking 
 in the water through her seams. A sail was thrummed, 
 and got under the bows, which aided us in some meas 
 ure, so that we began to gain upon the leak. 
 
 July 8th. A light breeze sprung up at sunrise from 
 the eastward, when the mate headed the brig to the 
 southwest, with the intention of making some of the 
 West India islands, in pursuance of his piratical designs. 
 No opposition was made by Peters or the cook ; at least 
 none in the hearing of Augustus. All idea of taking the 
 vessel from the Cape Verds was abandoned. The leak 
 was now easily kept under by one pump going every 
 three quarters of an hour. The sail was drawn from 
 beneath the bows. Spoke two small schooners during 
 the day. 
 
 July Qth. Fine weather. All hands employed in re 
 pairing bulwarks. Peters had again a long conversation 
 with Augustus, and spoke more plainly than he had 
 done heretofore. He said nothing should induce him to 
 
68 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 come into the mate's views, and even hinted his inters 
 tion of taking the brig out of his hands. He asked my 
 friend if he could depend upon his aid in such case, to 
 which Augustus said, " Yes," without hesitation. Pe 
 ters then said he would sound the others of his party 
 upon the subject, and went away. During the remain 
 der of the day Augustus had no opportunity of speaking 
 with him privately. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 JULY 10. Spoke a brig from Rio, bound to Norfolk, 
 Weather hazy, with a light baffling wind from the east 
 ward. To-day Hartman Rogers died, having been at 
 tacked on the eighth with spasms after drinking a glass 
 of grog. This man was of the cook's party, and one 
 upon whom Peters placed his main reliance. He told 
 Augustus that he believed the mate had poisoned him, 
 and that he expected, if he did not be on the look-out, 
 his own turn would come shortly. There were now 
 only himself, Jones, and the cook belonging to his own 
 gang on the other side there were five. He had 
 spoken to Jones about taking the command from the 
 mate ; but the project having been coolly received, he 
 had been deterred from pressing the matter any further, 
 or from saying anything to the cook. It was well, as it 
 happened, that he was so prudent, for in the afternoon 
 the cook expressed his determination of siding with the 
 mate, and went over formally to that party ; while 
 Jones took an opportunity of quarrelling with Peters, 
 and hinted that he would let the mate know of the plan 
 in agitation. There was now, evidently, no time to be 
 lost, and Peters expressed his determination of attempt 
 ing to take the vessel at all hazards, provided Augustus 
 would lend him his aid. My friend at once assured him 
 of his willingness to enter into any plan for that purpose, 
 

 A. GORDON PYM. 69 
 
 and, thinking the opportunity a favourable one, made known 
 the fact of my being on board. At this the hybrid was 
 not more astonished than delighted, as he had no reliance 
 whatever upon Jones, whom he already considered as 
 belonging to the party of the mate. They went below 
 immediately, when Augustus called to me by name, and 
 Peters and myself were soon made acquainted. It was 
 agreed that we should attempt to retake the vessel upon 
 the first good opportunity, leaving Jones altogether out 
 of our councils. In the event of success we were to 
 run the brig into the first port that offered, and deliver 
 her up. The desertion of his party had frustrated Pe- 
 ters's design of going into the Pacific an adventure 
 which could not be accomplished without a crew, and 
 he depended upon either getting acquitted upon trial on 
 the score of insanity (which he solemnly averred had 
 actuated him in lending his aid to the mutiny), or upon 
 obtaining a pardon, if found guilty, through the repre 
 sentations of Augustus and myself. Our deliberations 
 were interrupted for the present by the cry of "All 
 hands take in sail," and Peters and Augustus ran up on 
 deck. 
 
 As usual, the crew were nearly all drunk ; and, before 
 sail could be properly taken in, a violent squall laid the 
 brig on her beam-ends. By keeping her away, however, 
 she righted, having shipped a good deal of water. 
 Scarcely was everything secure, when another squall 
 took the vessel, and immediately afterward another no 
 damage being done. There was every appearance of a 
 gale of wind, which, indeed, shortly came on, with great 
 fury, from the northward and westward. All was made 
 as snug as possible, and we laid to, as usual, under a 
 close-reefed foresail. As night drew on, the wind in 
 creased in violence, with a remarkably heavy sea. Pe 
 ters now came into the forecastle with Augustus, and we 
 resumed our deliberations. 
 
 We agreed that no opportunity could be more favour 
 able than the present for carrying our design into effect, 
 as an attempt at such a moment would never be antici 
 pated. As the brig was snugly laid to, there would be 
 
70 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 no necessity of manoeuvring her until good weather, 
 when, if we succeeded in our attempt, we might liberate 
 one, or perhaps two of the men, to aid us in taking her 
 into port. The main difficulty was the great dispropor 
 tion in our forces. There were only three of us, and in 
 the cabin there were nine. All the arms on board, too, 
 were in their possession, with the exception of a pair of 
 small pistols which Peters had concealed about his per 
 son, and the large seaman's knife which he always wore 
 in the waistband of his pantaloons. From certain indi 
 cations, too, such, for example, as there being no such 
 thing as an axe or a handspike lying in their customary 
 places, we began to fear that the mate had his suspi 
 cions, at least in regard to Peters, and that he would let 
 slip no opportunity of getting rid of him. It was clear, 
 indeed, that what we should determine to do could not 
 be done too soon. Still the odds were too much against 
 us to allow of our proceeding without the greatest cau 
 tion. 
 
 Peters proposed that he should go up on deck, and 
 enter into conversation with the watch (Allen), when he 
 would be able to throw him into the sea without trouble, 
 and without making any disturbance, by seizing a good 
 opportunity ; that Augustus and myself should then come 
 up, and endeavour to provide ourselves with some kind 
 of weapons from the deck; and that we should then 
 make a rush together, and secure the companion-way 
 before any opposition could be offered. I objected to 
 this, because I could not believe that the mate (who was 
 a cunning fellow in all matters which did not affect his 
 superstitious prejudices) would suffer himself to be so 
 easily entrapped. The very fact of there being a watch 
 on deck at all was sufficient proof that he was upon the 
 alert it not being usual, except in vessels where disci 
 pline is most rigidly enforced, to station a watch on 
 deck when a vessel is lying to in a gale of wind. As I 
 address myself principally, if not altogether, to persons 
 who have never been to sea, it may be as well to state 
 the exact condition of a vessel under such circumstan 
 ces. Lying to, or, in sea-parlance " laying to," is a 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 71 
 
 measure resorted to for various purposes, and effected in 
 various manners. In moderate weather, it is frequently 
 done with a view of merely bringing the vessel to a 
 stand-still, to wait for another vessel, or any similar ob 
 ject. If the vessel which lies to is under full sail, the 
 manoeuvre is usually accomplished by throwing round 
 some portion of her sails so as to let the wind take them 
 aback, when she becomes stationary. But we are now 
 speaking of lying to in a gale of wind. This is done 
 when the wind is ahead, and too violent to admit of car 
 rying sail without danger of capsizing ; and sometimes 
 even when the wind is fair, but the sea too heavy for the 
 vessel to be put before it. If a vessel be suffered to 
 scud before the wind in a very heavy sea, much damage 
 is usually done her by the shipping of water over her 
 stern, and sometimes by the violent plunges she makes 
 forward. This manoeuvre, then, is seldom resorted to in 
 such case, unless through necessity. When the vessel 
 is in a leaky condition, she is often put before the wind 
 even in the heaviest seas ; for, when lying to, her seams 
 are sure to be greatly opened by her violent straining, 
 and it is not so much the case when scudding. Often, 
 too, it becomes necessary to scud a vessel, either when 
 the blast is so exceedingly furious as to tear in pieces 
 the sail which is employed with a view of bringing her 
 head to the wind, or when, through the false modelling 
 of the frame or other causes, this main object cannot be 
 effected. 
 
 Vessels in a gale of wind are laid to in different man 
 ners, according to their peculiar construction. Some 
 lie to best under a foresail, and this, I believe, is the 
 sail most usually employed. Large square-rigged ves 
 sels have sails for the express purpose, called storm- 
 staysails. But the jib is occasionally employed by 
 itself sometimes the jib and foresail, or a double-reefed 
 foresail, and not unfrequently the after-sails, are made 
 use of. Foretopsails are very often found to answer 
 the purpose better than any other species of sail. The 
 Grampus was generally laid to under a close-reefed 
 foresail. 
 
72 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 When a vessel is to be laid to, her head is brought 
 up to the wind just so nearly as to fill the sail under 
 which she lies, when hauled flat aft, that is, when 
 brought diagonally across the vessel. This being done, 
 the bows point within a few degrees of the direc 
 tion from which the wind issues, and the windward bow 
 of course receives the shock of the waves. In this sit 
 uation a good vessel will ride out a very heavy gale of 
 wind without shipping a drop of water, and without any 
 farther attention being requisite on the part of the crew. 
 The helm is usually lashed down, but this is altogether 
 unnecessary (except on account of the noise it makes 
 when loose), for the rudder has no effect upon the vessel 
 when lying to. Indeed, the helm had far better be left 
 loose than lashed very fast, for the rudder is apt to be 
 torn off by heavy seas if there be no room for the helm 
 to play. As long as the sail holds, a well-modelled 
 vessel will maintain her situation, and ride every sea, as 
 if instinct with life and reason. If the violence of the 
 wind, however, should tear the sail into pieces (a feat 
 which it requires a perfect hurricane to accomplish 
 under ordinary circumstances), there is then imminent 
 danger. The vessel falls off from the wind, and, coming 
 broadside to the sea, is completely at its mercy: the 
 only resource in this case is to put her quickly before the 
 wind, letting her scud until some other sail can be set. 
 Some vessels will lie to under no sail whatever, but 
 such are not to be trusted at sea. 
 
 But to return from this digression. It had never been 
 customary with the mate to have any watch on deck 
 when lying to in a gale of wind, and the fact that he 
 had now one, coupled with the circumstance of the mis 
 sing axes and handspikes, fully convinced us that the 
 crew were too well on the watch to be taken by surprise 
 in the manner Peters had suggested. Something, how 
 ever, was to be done, and that with as little delay as 
 practicable, for there could be no doubt that a suspicion 
 having been once entertained against Peters, he would 
 be sacrificed upon the earliest occasion, and one would 
 
A. GORDON PVM. 73 
 
 certainly be either found or made upon the breaking of 
 the gale. 
 
 Augustus now suggested that if Peters could contrive 
 to remove, under any pretext, the piece of chain-cable 
 which lay over the trap in the stateroom, we might pos 
 sibly be able to come upon them unawares by means of 
 the hold ; but a little reflection convinced us that the 
 vessel rolled and pitched too violently for any attempt 
 of that nature. 
 
 By good fortune I at length hit upon the idea of work 
 ing upon the superstitious terrors and guilty conscience 
 of the mate. It will be remembered that one of the 
 crew, Hartman Rogers, had died during the morning, 
 having been attacked two days before with spasms after 
 drinking some spirits and water. Peters had expressed 
 to us his opinion that this man had been poisoned by 
 the mate, and for this belief he had reasons, so he said, 
 which were incontrovertible, but which he could not be 
 prevailed upon to explain to us this wayward refusal 
 being only in keeping with other points of his singular 
 character. But whether or not he had any better 
 grounds for suspecting the mate than we had ourselves, 
 we were easily led to fall in with his suspicion, and de 
 termined to act accordingly. 
 
 Rogers had died about eleven in the forenoon, in vio 
 lent convulsions ; and the corpse presented in a few 
 minutes after death one of the most horrid and loath 
 some spectacles I ever remember to have seen. The 
 stomach was swollen immensely, like that of a man 
 who has been drowned and lain under water for many 
 weeks. The hands were in the same condition, while 
 the face was shrunken, shrivelled, and of a chalky 
 whiteness, except where relieved by two or three gla 
 ring red splotches, like those occasioned by the erysipe 
 las : one of these splotches extended diagonally across 
 the face, completely covering up an eye as if with a 
 band of red velvet. In this disgusting condition the 
 body had been brought up from the cabin at noon to be 
 thrown overboard, when the mate getting a glimpse of it 
 (for he now saw it for the first time), and being either 
 G 
 

 74 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 touched with remorse for his crime or struck with terror 
 at so horrible a sight, ordered the men to sew the body 
 up in its hammock, and allow it the usual rites of sea- 
 burial. Having given these directions he went below, 
 as if to avoid any further sight of his victim. While 
 preparations were making to obey his orders, the gale 
 came on with great fury, and the design was abandoned 
 for the present. The corpse, left to itself, was washed 
 into the larboard scuppers, where it still lay at the time 
 of which I speak, floundering about with the furious 
 lurches of the brig. 
 
 Having arranged our plan, we set about putting it in 
 execution as speedily as possible. Peters went upon 
 deck, and, as he had anticipated, was immediately ac 
 costed by Allen, who appeared to be stationed more as 
 a watch upon the forecastle than for any other purpose. 
 The fate of this villain, however, was speedily and si 
 lently decided ; for Peters, approaching him in a careless 
 manner, as if about to address him, seized him by the 
 throat, and, before he could utter a single cry, tossed him 
 over the bulwarks. He then called to us, and we came 
 up. Our first precaution was to look about for some 
 thing with which to arm ourselves, and in doing this we 
 had to proceed with great care, for it was impossible to 
 stand on deck an instant without holding fast, and. vio 
 lent seas broke over the vessel at every plunge forward. 
 It was indispensable, too, that we should be quick in our 
 operations, for every minute we expected the mate to be 
 up to set the pumps going, as it was evident the brig 
 must be taking in water very fast. After searching 
 about for some time, we could find nothing more fit for 
 our purpose than the two pump-handles, one of which 
 Augustus took, and I the other. Having secured these, 
 we stripped off the shirt of the corpse and dropped the 
 body overboard. Peters and myself then went below, 
 leaving Augustus to watch upon deck, where he took 
 his station just where Allen had been placed, and with 
 his back to the cabin companion-way, so that, if any one 
 of the mate's gang should come up, he might suppose it 
 was the watch. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 75 
 
 As soon as I got below I commenced disguising my 
 self so as to represent the corpse of Rogers. The shirt 
 which we had taken from the body aided us very much, 
 for it was of a singular form and character, and easily 
 recognisable a kind of smock, which the deceased wore 
 over his other clothing. It was a blue stockinett, with 
 large white stripes running across. \ Having put this on, 
 I proceeded to equip myself with a false stomach, in im 
 itation of the horrible deformity of the swollen corpse. 
 This was soon effected by means of stuffing with some 
 bedclothes. I then gave the same appearance to my 
 hands by drawing on a pair of white woollen mittens, 
 and filling them in with any kind of rags that offered 
 themselves. Peters then arranged my face, first rubbing 
 it well over with white chalk, and afterward splotching 
 it with blood, which he took from a cut in his finger. 
 The streak across the eye was not forgotten, and pre 
 sented a most shocking appearance. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 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 recol 
 lection of the terrific reality which I was thus represent 
 ing, 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 compan 
 ion-way. It was only partially closed, precautions hav 
 ing 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 
 
76 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 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 ca 
 rousing, as appeared from two empty jugs, with some tin 
 tumblers which lay about, they were not as much intoxi 
 cated 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 be 
 fore 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 Rog 
 ers. 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 possi 
 ble, get the schooner herself into their possession pre 
 paratory to some attempt on a large scale, the particu 
 lars of which could not be made out by either of us. 
 
 One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate re 
 plied to him in a low voice which could not be distin 
 guished, 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 ex 
 cessively 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. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 77 
 
 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 mat 
 tress to go for us, when a tremendous lurch, which I 
 thought would carry away the masts, threw him head 
 long 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 posi 
 tion, and we had time to make a precipitate retreat to 
 the forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan of action be 
 fore the messenger made his appearance, or rather be 
 fore 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. Pe 
 ters 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 re 
 ceived 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-han 
 dles, 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 
 G 2 
 
78 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 have a good view of all that was passing within, and en 
 deavoured 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 su 
 perstitions which are so universally current arhong sea 
 men. 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 implo 
 ring 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 ex 
 citement. Peters now made me the signal. I immedi 
 ately 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 circum 
 stances are taken into consideration. Usually, in cases 
 of a similar nature, there is left in the mind of the spec 
 tator 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 79 
 
 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 re 
 vivification of his disgusting corpse, or at least its spirit 
 ual 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 suspect 
 ing 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 famil 
 iar in their eyes to permit the notion that he was the ap 
 parition before them to enter their minds even for an in 
 stant. 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 excel 
 lence 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 pit 
 iable 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 ; 
 
80 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 Augus 
 tus 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 per 
 haps 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 Pe 
 ters, might have ultimately got the better of us. These 
 three men were Jones, Greely, and Absa 
 lom 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 de 
 pended. 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, how 
 ever, was now too much injured to render us any 
 aid whatever, and I was so encumbered with my dis 
 guise that I could do but little. The dog would not 
 leave his hold upon the throat of Jones Peters, never 
 theless, 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 dischar 
 ging 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, stran 
 gled him instantaneously. Thus, in far less time than 
 I have taken to tell it, we found ourselves masters of the 
 brig. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 81 
 
 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 mo 
 tionless 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 other 
 wise 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 be 
 tween 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 ef 
 fect 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 con- 
 
82 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 stantly 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 hav 
 ing 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 assist 
 ance 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 capsi 
 zing. 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 bleed 
 ing 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. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 83 
 
 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 fore 
 mast 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 star 
 board 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 disap 
 pointed, for it only lulled for a few minutes to blow with 
 redoubled fury. About four in the afternoon it was ut 
 terly 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 se/a 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 en 
 tirely through it, being clinched on the inside, were 
 drawn every one of them completely out of the solid 
 wood. 
 

 84 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 We had scarcely time to draw breath after the vio- 
 ence 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. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LUCKILY, just before night, all four of us had lashed 
 ourselves firmly to the fragments of the windlass, lying 
 in Jhis 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 consider 
 ation altogether ; and the danger which I had for some 
 time regarded as the most imminent was that of founder 
 ing. 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 
 noon 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 85 
 
 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 every instant. It is not too much to say that our 
 heads were not fairly out of 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 en 
 deavouring 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 firm 
 ness, 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 tum 
 bled 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 sur 
 rounded us. The brig was a mere log, rolling about at 
 the mercy of every wave ; the gale was upon the increase, 
 H 
 

 86 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 if anything, 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 direc 
 tion 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, how 
 ever, 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 be 
 fore, 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 th'at he could en 
 dure 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 re 
 plied, although very feebly, so that I could not distin- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 87 
 
 guish 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 remem 
 ber that, in all which passed before my mind's eye, mo 
 tion was a predominant idea. Thus, I never fancied 
 any stationary object, such as a house, a mountain, or 
 anything 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 convincedrthat 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 be 
 numbed, 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 an 
 other 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 indi 
 cation 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 suf 
 ficient strength to release him from his situation ; saying, 
 
88 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 that if I would summon up what spirits I could, and con 
 trive to untie him, we might yet save our lives ; but that 
 otherwise we must all perish. I told him to take cour 
 age, and I would endeavour to free him. Feeling in my 
 pantaloons' pocket, I got hold of my penknife, and, after 
 several ineffectual attempts, at length succeeded in open 
 ing 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 alto 
 gether, 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 min 
 utes, 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 towards 
 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 wool 
 len 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 hope that Augustus would recover, as he 
 evinced no signs of life ; but, upon getting to him, we 
 discovered that he had merely swooned from 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 suffi 
 ciently 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 placa 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 89 
 
 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, al 
 though it was not until the next morning that he gave 
 signs of recognising 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 de 
 rived 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 re 
 lief 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 
 H2 
 
90 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 along as she had done before, the deck was compara* 
 lively 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 abso 
 lutely 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 despondingly, and 
 with but little expectation of being able to obtain any 
 thing. 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 ar 
 ticle 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 with 
 out 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 pro 
 posed 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 de 
 light 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 diffi 
 culty and danger ; for, as we could hardly expect to find 
 much, if any provision in the cabin itself, it was neces 
 sary that the diver, after letting himself down, should 
 make a turn to the right, and proceed under water a dis 
 tance of ten or twelve feet, in a narrow passage, to the 
 storeroom, and return, without drawing breath. 
 
 Everything being ready, Peters now descended into 
 the cabin, going down the companion-ladder until the 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 91 
 
 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 balus 
 trade at the foot of the ladder. This balustrade was, 
 indeed, so much in the way, that we determined to re 
 move 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 wrench 
 ing it off. Having fastened this securely to one of his 
 ancles, Peters now made his fourth descent into the 
 
92 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 exer 
 tion, he could remain under water not more, at the ut 
 most 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 vigour to think what could yet 
 be done by mortal means towards accomplishing our de 
 liverance. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SHORTLY afterward an incident occurred which I am 
 induced to look upon as more intensely productive of 
 emotion, as far more replete with the extremes first of de 
 light and then of horror, than even any of the thousand 
 chances which afterward befell me in nine long years, 
 crowded with events of the most startling, and, in many 
 cases, of the most unconceived and unconceivable char 
 acter. We were lying on the deck near the companion- 
 way, and debating the possibility of yet making our way 
 into the storeroom, when, looking towards Augustus, who 
 lay fronting myself, I perceived that he had become all 
 at once deadly pale, and that his lips were quivering in 
 the most singular and unaccountable manner. Greatly 
 alarmed, I spoke to him, but he made me no reply, and 
 I was beginning to think that he was suddenly taken ill, 
 when I took notice of his eyes, which were glaring ap 
 parently at some object behind me. I turned my head, 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 93 
 
 and shall never forget the ecstatic joy which thrilled 
 through every particle of my frame, when I perceived a 
 large brig bearing down upon us, and not more than a 
 couple of miles off. I sprung to my feet as if a musket 
 bullet had suddenly struck me to the heart ; and, stretch 
 ing out my arms in the direction of the vessel, stood in 
 this manner, motionless, and unable to articulate a syl 
 lable. Peters and Parker were equally affected, although 
 in different ways. The former danced about the deck 
 like a madman, uttering the most extravagant rhodomon- 
 tades, intermingled with howls and imprecations, while 
 the latter burst into tears, and continued for many min 
 utes weeping like a child. 
 
 The vessel in sight was a large hermaphrodite brig, 
 of a Dutch build, and painted black, with a tawdry gilt 
 figurehead. She had evidently seen a good deal of 
 rough weather, and, we supposed, had suffered much in 
 the gale which had proved so disastrous to ourselves ; 
 for her fore topmast was gone, and some of her starboard 
 bulwarks. When we first saw her, she was, as I have 
 already said, about two miles off and to windward, bear 
 ing down upon us. The breeze was very gentle, and 
 what astonished us chiefly was, that she had no other 
 sails set than her foresail and mainsail, with a flying jib 
 of course she came down but slowly, and our impa 
 tience amounted nearly to phrensy. The awkward man 
 ner in which she steered, too, was remarked by all of 
 us, even excited as we were. She yawed about so con 
 siderably, that once or twice we thought it impossible 
 she could see us, or imagined that, having seen us, and 
 discovered no person on board, she was about to tack 
 and make off in another direction. Upon each of these 
 occasions we screamed and shouted at the top of our 
 voices, when the stranger would appear to change for a 
 moment her intention, and again hold on towards us 
 this singular conduct being repeated two or three times, 
 so that at last we could think of no other manner of ac 
 counting for it than by supposing the helmsman to be in 
 liquor. 
 
 No person was seen upon her decks until she arrived 
 
94 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 within about a quarter of a mile of us. We then saw 
 three seamen, whom by their dress we took to be Hol 
 landers. Two of these were lying on some old sails 
 near the forecastle, and the third, who appeared to be 
 looking at us with great curiosity, was leaning over the 
 starboard bow near the bowsprit. This last was a stout 
 and tall man, with a very dark skin. He seemed by his 
 manner to be encouraging us to have patience, nod 
 ding to us in a cheerful although rather odd way, and 
 smiling constantly so as to display a set of the most 
 brilliantly white teeth. As his vessel drew nearer, we 
 saw a red flannel cap which he had on fall from his head 
 into the water ; but of this he took little or no notice, 
 continuing his odd smiles and gesticulations. I relate 
 these things and circumstances minutely, and I relate 
 them, it must be understood, precisely as they appeared 
 to us. 
 
 The brig came on slowly, and now more steadily than 
 before, and I cannot speak calmly of this event 
 our hearts leaped up wildly within us, and we poured 
 out our whole souls in shouts and thanksgiving to God 
 for the complete, unexpected, and glorious deliverance 
 that was so palpably at hand. Of a sudden, and all at 
 once, there came wafted over the ocean from the strange 
 vessel (which was now close upon us) a smell, a 
 stench, such as the whole world has no name for no 
 conception of hellish utterly suffocating insuffera 
 ble, inconceivable. I gasped for breath, and, turning to 
 my companions, perceived that they were paler than mar 
 ble. But we had now no time left for question or sur 
 mise the brig was within fifty feet of us, and it seemed 
 to be her intention to run under our counter, that we 
 might board her without her putting out a boat. We 
 rushed aft, when, suddenly, a wide yaw threw her off 
 full five or six points from the course she had been run 
 ning, and, as she passed under our stern at the distance 
 of about twenty feet, we had a full view of her decks. 
 Shall I ever forget the triple horror of that spectacle ? 
 Twenty-five or thirty human bodies, among whom wero 
 several females, lay scattered about between the countei 
 
 ' 
 

 A. GORDON PYM. 95 
 
 and the galley, in the last and most loathsome state of 
 putrefaction ! We plainly saw that not a soul lived in 
 that fated vessel ! Yet we could not help shouting to the 
 dead for help ! Yes, long and loudly did we beg, in the 
 agony of the moment, that those silent and disgusting 
 images would stay for us, would not abandon us to be 
 come like them, would receive us among their goodly 
 company ! We were raving with horror and despair 
 thoroughly mad through the anguish of our grievous dis 
 appointment. 
 
 As our first loud yell of terror broke forth, it was re 
 plied to by something, from near the bowsprit of the 
 stranger, so closely resembling the scream of a human 
 voice that the nicest ear might have been startled and de 
 ceived. At this instant another sudden yaw brought the 
 region of the forecastle for a moment into view, and we 
 beheld at once the origin of the sound. We saw the 
 tall stout figure still leaning on the bulwark, and still 
 nodding his head to and fro, but his face was now turned 
 from us so that we could not behold it. His arms were 
 extended over the rail, and the palms of his hands fell 
 outward. His knees were lodged upon a stout rope, 
 tightly stretched, and reaching from the heel of the bow 
 sprit to a cathead. On his back, from which a por 
 tion of the shirt had been torn, leaving it bare, there sat 
 a huge seagull, busily gorging itself with the horrible 
 flesh, its bill and talons deep buried, and its white plu 
 mage spattered all over with blood. As the brig moved 
 further round so as to bring us close in view, the bird, 
 with much apparent difficulty, drew out its crimsoned 
 head, and, after eying us for a moment as if stupified, 
 arose lazily from the body upon which it had been feast 
 ing, and, flying directly above our deck, hovered there 
 a while with a portion of clotted and liver-like sub 
 stance in its beak. The horrid morsel dropped at length 
 with a sullen splash immediately at the feet of Parker. 
 May God forgive me, but now, for the first time, there 
 flashed through my mind a thought, a thought which I will 
 not mention, and I felt myself making a step towards 
 the ensanguined spot. I looked upward, and the eyes 
 
96 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 of Augustus met my own with a degree of intense and 
 eager meaning which immediately brought me to my 
 senses. I sprang forward quickly, and, with a deep 
 shudder, threw the frightful thing into the sea. 
 
 The body from which it had been taken, resting as it 
 did upon the rope, had been easily swayed to and fro by 
 the exertions of the carnivorous bird, and it was this mo 
 tion which had at first impressed us with the belief of 
 its being alive. As the gull relieved it of its weight, it 
 swung round and fell partiaDy over, so that the face was 
 fully discovered. Never, surely, was any object so ter 
 ribly full of awe ! The eyes were gone, and the whole 
 flesh around the mouth, leaving the teeth utterly naked. 
 This, then, was the smile which had cheered us on to 
 hope ! this the but I forbear. The brig, as I have al 
 ready told, passed under our stern, and made its way 
 slowly but steadily to leeward. With her and with her 
 terrible crew went all our gay visions of deliverance 
 and joy. Deliberately as she went by, we might possi 
 bly have found means of boarding her, had not our sud 
 den disappointment, and the appalling nature of the dis 
 covery which accompanied it, laid entirely prostrate every 
 active faculty of mind and body. We had seen and felt, 
 but we could neither think nor act, until, alas, too late. 
 How much our intellects had been weakened by this 
 incident may be estimated by the fact, that, when the 
 vessel had proceeded so far that we could perceive no 
 more than the half of her hull, the proposition was seri 
 ously entertained of attempting to overtake her by swim 
 ming! 
 
 I have, since this period, vainly endeavoured to obtain 
 some clew to the hideous uncertainty which enveloped the 
 fate of the stranger. Her build and general appearance, 
 as I have before stated, led us to the belief that she was 
 a Dutch trader, and the dresses of the crew also sus 
 tained this opinion. We might have easily seen the 
 name upon her stern, and, indeed, taken other observa 
 tions which would have guided us in making out her 
 character ; but the intense excitement of the moment 
 blinded us to everything of that nature. From the saf- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 97 
 
 fron-like hue of such of the corpses as were not entirely 
 decayed, we concluded that the whole of her company 
 had perished by the yellow fever, or some other virulent 
 disease of the same fearful kind. If such were the case 
 (and I know not what else to imagine), death, to judge 
 from the positions of the bodies, must have come upon 
 them in a manner awfully sudden and overwhelming, 
 in a way totally distinct from that which generally char 
 acterizes even the most deadly pestilences with which 
 mankind are acquainted. It is possible, indeed, that 
 poison, accidentally introduced into some of their sea- 
 stores, may have brought about the disaster ; or that the 
 eating some unknown venomous species of fish, or other 
 marine animal, or oceanic bird, might have induced it 
 but it is utterly useless to form conjectures where all is 
 involved, and will, no doubt, remain for ever involved, in 
 the most appalling and unfathomable mystery. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WE spent the remainder of the day in a condition of 
 stupid lethargy, gazing after the retreating vessel until 
 the darkness, hiding her from our sight, recalled us in 
 some measure to our senses. The pangs of hunger and 
 thirst then returned, absorbing all other cares and con 
 siderations. Nothing, however, could be done until the 
 morning, and, securing ourselves as well as possible, we 
 endeavoured to snatch a little repose. In this I suc 
 ceeded beyond my expectation, sleeping until my com 
 panions, who had not been so fortunate, aroused me at 
 daybreak to renew our attempts at getting up provision 
 from the hull. 
 
 It was now a dead calm, with the sea as smooth as I 
 have ever known it the weather warm and pleasant. 
 The brig was out of sight. We commenced our opera- 
 
98 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 tions by wrenching off, with some trouble, another of the 
 forechains ; and having fastened both to Peters's feet, he 
 again made an endeavour to reach the door of the store 
 room, thinking it possible that he might be able to force 
 it open, provided he could get at it in sufficient time ; 
 and this he hoped to do, as the hulk lay much more 
 steadily than before. 
 
 He succeeded very quickly in reaching the door, 
 when, loosening one of the chains from his ankle, he 
 made every exertion to force a passage with it, but 
 in vain, the framework of the room being far stronger 
 than was anticipated. He was quite exhausted with 
 his long stay under water, and it became absolutely ne 
 cessary that some other one of us should take his place. 
 For this service Parker immediately volunteered ; but, 
 after making three ineffectual efforts, found that he could 
 never even succeed in getting near the door. The con 
 dition of Augustus's wounded arm rendered it useless 
 for him to attempt going down, as he would be unable 
 to force the room open should he reach it, and it accord 
 ingly now devolved upon me to exert myself for our 
 common deliverance. , 
 
 Peters had left one of the chains in the passage, and 
 I found, upon plunging in, that I had not sufficient bal 
 last to keep me firmly down. I determined, therefore, 
 to attempt no more, in my first effort, than merely to re 
 cover the other chain. In groping along the floor of the 
 passage for this I felt a hard substance, which I imme 
 diately grasped, not having time to ascertain what it 
 was, but returning and ascending instantly to the sur 
 face. The prize proved to be a bottle, and our joy may 
 be conceived when I say that it was found to be full of 
 Port wine. Giving thanks to God for this timely and 
 cheering assistance, we immediately drew the cork with 
 my penknife, and, each taking a moderate sup, felt the 
 most indescribable comfort from the warmth, strength, 
 and spirits with which it inspired us. We then care 
 fully recorked the bottle, and, by means of a handker 
 chief, swung it in such a manner that there was no pos 
 sibility of its getting broken. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 99 
 
 Having rested a while after this fortunate discovery, I 
 again descended, and now recovered the chain, with 
 which I instantly came up. I then fastened it on and 
 went down for the third time, when I became fully sat 
 isfied that no exertions whatever, in that situation, would 
 enable me to force open the door of the storeroom. I 
 therefore returned in despair. 
 
 There seemed now to be no longer any room for hope, 
 and I could perceive in the countenances of my compan 
 ions that they had made up their minds to perish. The 
 wine had evidently produced in them a species of delir 
 ium, which, perhaps, I had been prevented from feeling 
 by the immersion I had undergone since drinking it. 
 They talked incoherently, and about matters unconnected 
 with our condition, Peters repeatedly asking me ques 
 tions about Nantucket. Augustus, too, I remember, ap 
 proached me with a serious air, and requested me to 
 lend him a pocket-comb, as his hair was full of fish 
 scales, and he wished to get them out before going on 
 shore. Parker appeared somewhat less affected, and 
 urged me to dive at random into the cabin, and bring up 
 any article which might come to hand. To this I con 
 sented, and, in the first attempt, after staying under a full 
 minute, brought up a small leather trunk belonging to 
 Captain Barnard. This was immediately opened in the 
 faint hope that it might contain something to eat or drink. 
 We found nothing, however, except a box of razors and 
 two linen shirts. I now went down again, and returned 
 without any success. As my head came above water I 
 heard a crash on deck, and, upon getting up, saw that 
 my companions had ungratefully taken advantage of my 
 absence to drink the remainder of the wine, having let 
 the bottle fall in the endeavour to replace it before I saw 
 them. I remonstrated with them on the heartlessness 
 of their conduct, when Augustus burst into tears. The 
 other two endeavoured to laugh the matter off as a joke, 
 but I hope never again to behold laughter of such a 
 species : the distortion of countenance was absolutely 
 frightful. Indeed, it was apparent that the stimulus, in 
 the empty state of their stomachs, had taken instant and 
 
100 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 violent effect, and that they were all exceedingly intoxi 
 cated. With great difficulty I prevailed upon them to 
 lie down, when they fell very soon into a heavy slumber, 
 accompanied with loud stertorous breathing. 
 
 I now found myself, as it were, alone in the brig, and 
 my reflections, to be sure, were of the most fearful and 
 'gloomy nature. No prospect offered itself to my view 
 but a lingering death by famine, or, at the best, by being 
 overwhelmed in the first gale which should spring up, 
 for in our present exhausted condition we could have no 
 hope of living through another. 
 
 The gnawing hunger which I now experienced was 
 nearly insupportable, and I felt myself capable of going 
 to any lengths in order to appease it. With my knife I 
 cut off a small portion of the leather trunk, and endeav 
 oured to eat it, but found it utterly impossible to swal 
 low a single morsel, although I fancied that some little 
 alleviation of my suffering was obtained by chewing 
 small pieces of it and spitting them out. Towards 
 night my companions awoke, one by one, each in an in 
 describable state of weakness and horror, brought on by 
 the wine, whose fumes had now evaporated. They 
 shook as if with a violent ague, and uttered the most 
 lamentable cries for water. Their condition affected 
 me in the most lively degree, at^he same time causing 
 me to rejoice in the fortunate train of circumstances 
 which had prevented me from indulging in the wine, and 
 consequently from sharing their melancholy and most 
 distressing sensations. Their conduct, however, gave 
 me great uneasiness and alarm ; for it was evident that, 
 unless some favourable change took place, they could 
 afford me no assistance in providing for our common 
 safety. I had not yet abandoned all idea of being able 
 to get up something from below ; but the attempt could 
 not possibly be resumed until some one of them was 
 sufficiently master of himself to aid me by holding the 
 end of the rope while I went down. Parker appeared 
 to be somewhat more in possession of his senses than 
 the others, and I endeavoured, by every means in my 
 power, to arouse him. Thinking that a plunge in the 
 

 A. GORDON PYM. 101 
 
 seawater might have a beneficial effect, I contrived to 
 fasten the end of a rope around his body, and then, lead 
 ing him to the companion-way (he remaining quite pas 
 sive all the while), pushed him in, and immediately drew 
 him out. I had good reason to congratulate myself upon 
 having made this experiment ; for he appeared much re 
 vived and invigorated, and, upon getting out, asked me, 
 in- a rational manner, why I had so served him. Having 
 explained my object, he expressed himself indebted to 
 me, and said that he felt greatly better from the immer 
 sion, afterward conversing sensibly upon our situation. 
 We then resolved to treat Augustus and Peters in the 
 same way, which we immediately did, when they both 
 experienced much benefit from the shock. This idea of 
 sudden immersion had been suggested to me by reading 
 in some medical work the good effect of the shower-bath 
 in a case where the patient was suffering from mania a 
 potu. fc 
 
 Finding that I could now trust my companions to hold 
 the end of the rope, I again made three or four plunges 
 into the cabin, although it was now quite dark, and a 
 gentle but long swell from the northward rendered the 
 hulk somewhat unsteady. In the course of these at 
 tempts I succeeded in bringing up two case-knives, a 
 three-gallon jug, empty, and a blanket, but nothing which 
 could serve us for food. I continued my efforts, after 
 getting these articles, until I was completely exhausted, 
 but brought up nothing else. During the night Parker 
 and Peters occupied themselves by turns in the same 
 manner ; but nothing coming to hand, we now gave up 
 this attempt in despair, concluding that we were exhaust 
 ing ourselves in vain. 
 
 We passed the remainder of this night in a state of 
 the most intense mental and bodily anguish that can pos 
 sibly be imagined. The morning of the sixteenth at 
 length dawned, and we looked eagerly around the hori 
 zon for relief, but to no purpose. The sea was still 
 smooth, with only a long swell from the northward, as on 
 yesterday. This was the sixth day since we had tasted 
 either food or drink, with the exception of the bottle of 
 12 
 
102 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 Port wine, and it was clear that we could hold out but a very 
 little while longer unless something could be obtained. 
 I never saw before, nor wish to see again, human beings 
 so utterly emaciated as Peters and Augustus. Had I 
 met them on shore in their present condition I should not 
 have had the slightest suspicion that I had ever beheld 
 them. Their countenances were totally changed in 
 character, so that I could not bring myself to believe 
 them really the same individuals with whom I had been 
 in company but a few days before. Parker, although 
 sadly reduced, and so feeble that he could not raise his 
 head from his bosom, was not so far gone as the other 
 two. He suffered with great patience, making no com 
 plaint, and endeavouring to inspire us with hope in 
 every manner he could devise. For myself, although at 
 the commencement of the voyage I had been in bad 
 health, and was at all times of a delicate constitution, I 
 suffered less than any of us, being much less reduced in 
 frame, and retaining my powers of mind in a surprising 
 degree, while the rest were completely prostrated in intel 
 lect, and seemed to be brought to a species of second 
 childhood, generally simpering in their expressions, with 
 idiotic smiles, and uttering the most absurd platitudes. 
 At intervals, however, they would appear to revive sud 
 denly, as if inspired all at once with a consciousness of 
 their condition, when they would spring upon their feet 
 in a momentary flash of vigour, and speak, for a short 
 period, of their prospects, in a manner altogether rational, 
 although full of the most intense despair. It is possible, 
 however, that my companions may have entertained the 
 same opinion of their own condition as I did of mine, and 
 that I may have unwittingly been guilty of the same ex 
 travagances and imbecilities as themselves this is a 
 matter which cannot be determined. 
 
 About noon Parker declared that he saw land off the 
 larboard quarter, and it was with the utmost difficulty I 
 could restrain him from plunging into the sea with the 
 view of swimming towards it. Peters and Augustus 
 took little notice of what he said, being apparently 
 wrapped up in moody contemplation. Upon looking in 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 103 
 
 the direction pointed out I could not perceive the faintest 
 appearance of the shore indeed, I was too well aware 
 that we were far from any land to indulge in a hope of 
 that nature. It was a long time, nevertheless, before I 
 could convince Parker of his mistake. He then burst into 
 a flood of tears, weeping like a child, with loud cries and 
 sobs, for two or three hours, when, becoming exhausted, 
 he fell asleep. 
 
 Peters and Augustus now made several ineffectual ef 
 forts to swallow portions of the leather. I advised them 
 to chew it and spit it out ; but they were too excessively 
 debilitated to be able to follow my advice. I continued 
 to chew pieces of it at intervals, and found some relief 
 from so doing ; my chief distress was for water, and I 
 was only prevented from taking a draught from the sea 
 by remembering the horrible consequences which thus 
 have resulted to others who were similarly situated with 
 ourselves. 
 
 The day wore on in this manner, when I suddenly 
 discovered a sail to the eastward, and on our larboard 
 bow. She appeared to be a large ship, and was coming 
 nearly athwart us, being probably twelve or fifteen miles 
 distant. None of my companions had as yet discovered 
 her, and I forbore to tell them of her for the present, 
 lest we might again be disappointed of relief. At 
 length, upon her getting nearer, I saw distinctly that she 
 was heading immediately for us, with her light sails 
 filled. I could now contain myself no longer, and 
 pointed her out to my fellow-sufferers. They immedi 
 ately sprang to their feet, again indulging in the most 
 extravagant demonstrations of joy, weeping, laughing in 
 an idiotic manner, jumping, stamping upon the deck, 
 tearing their hair, and praying and cursing by turns. I 
 was so affected by their conduct, as well as by what I 
 now considered a sure prospect of deliverance, that I 
 could not refrain from joining in with their madness, and 
 gave way to the impulses of my gratitude and ecstasy 
 by lying and rolling on the deck, clapping my hands, 
 shouting, and other similar acts, until I was suddenly 
 called to my recollection, and once more to the extreme 
 
104 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 of human misery and despair, by perceiving the ship all 
 at once with her stern fully presented towards us, and 
 steering in a direction nearly opposite to that in which I 
 had at first perceived her. 
 
 It was some time before I could induce my poor com 
 panions to believe that this sad reverse in our pros 
 pects had actually taken^place. They replied to all my 
 assertions with a stare and a gesture implying that they 
 were not to be deceived by such misrepresentations. 
 The conduct of Augustus most sensibly affected me. In 
 spite of all I could say or do to the contrary, he persisted 
 in saying that the ship was rapidly nearing us, and in 
 making preparations to go on board of her. Some sea 
 weed floating by the brig, he maintained that it was the 
 ship's boat, and endeavoured to throw himself upon it, 
 howling and shrieking in the most heartrending manner, 
 when I forcibly restrained him from thus casting himself 
 into the sea. 
 
 Having become in some degree pacified, we continued 
 to watch the ship until we finally lost sight of her, the 
 weather becoming hazy, with a light breeze springing up. 
 As soon as she was entirely gone, Parker turned sud 
 denly towards me with an expression 'of countenance 
 which made me shudder. There was about him an air 
 of self-possession which I had not noticed in him until 
 now, and before he opened his lips my heart told me 
 what he would say. He proposed, in a few words, that 
 one of us should die to preserve the existence of the 
 others. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 I HAD, for some time past, dwelt upon the prospect of 
 our being reduced to this last horrible extremity, and 
 had secretly made up my mind to suffer death in any 
 shape or under any circumstances rather than resort to 
 such a course. Nor was this resolution in any degree 
 weakened by the present intensity of hunger under which 
 I laboured. The proposition had not been heard by 
 either Peters or Augustus. I therefore took Parker 
 aside ; and mentally praying to God for power to dissuade 
 him from the horrible purpose he entertained, I expostu 
 lated with him for a long time and in the most supplica 
 ting manner, begging him in the name of everything 
 which he held sacred, and urging him by every species 
 of argument which the extremity of the case suggested, 
 to abandon the idea, and not to mention it to either of the 
 other two. 
 
 He heard all I said without attempting to controvert 
 any of my arguments, and I had begun to hope that he 
 would be prevailed upon to do as I desired. But when 
 I had ceased speaking, he said that he knew very well 
 all I had said was true, and that to resort to such a 
 course was the most horrible alternative which could 
 enter into the mind of man ; but that he had now held 
 out as long as human nature could be sustained ; that it 
 was unnecessary for all to perish, when, by the death of 
 one, it was possible, and even probable, that the rest 
 might be finally preserved ; adding that I might save 
 myself the trouble of trying to turn him from his purpose, 
 his mind having been thoroughly made up on the subject 
 even before the appearance of the ship, and that only 
 her heaving in sight had prevented him from mentioning 
 his intention at an earlier period. 
 
 I now begged him, if he would not be prevailed upon 
 to abandon his design, at least to defer it for another day, 
 
106 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 when some vessel might come to our relief,- again reit 
 erating every Argument I could devise, and which I 
 thought likely to have influence with one of his rough 
 nature. He said, in reply, that he had not spoken until 
 the very last possible moment ; that he could exist no 
 longer without sustenance of some kind ; and that there 
 fore in another day his suggestion would be too late, as 
 regarded himself at least. 
 
 Finding that he was not to be moved by anything I 
 could say in a mild tone, I now assumed a different de 
 meanour, and told him that he must be aware I had suf 
 fered less than any of us from our calamities ; that my 
 health and strength, consequently, were at that moment 
 far better than his own, or than that either of Peters or 
 Augustus ; in short, that I was in a condition to have 
 my own way by force if I found it necessary ; and that, 
 if he attempted in any manner to acquaint the others 
 with his bloody and cannibal designs, I would not hesi 
 tate to throw him into the sea. Upon this he immedi 
 ately seized me by the throat, and drawing a knife, made 
 several ineffectual efforts to stab me in the stomach ; an 
 atrocity which his excessive debility alone prevented him 
 from accomplishing. In the mean time, being roused to 
 a high pitch of anger, I forced him to the vessel's side, 
 with the full intention of throwing him overboard. He 
 was saved from this fate, however, by the interference 
 of Peters, who now approached and separated us, asking 
 the cause of the disturbance. This Parker told before 
 I could find means in any manner to prevent him. 
 
 The effect of his words was even more terrible than 
 what I had anticipated. Both Augustus and Peters, 
 who, it seems, had long secretly entertained the same 
 fearful idea which Parker had been merely the first to 
 broach, joined with him in his design, and insisted upon 
 its being immediately carried into effect. I had calcu 
 lated that one at least of the two former would be found 
 still possessed of sufficient strength of mind to side 
 with myself in resisting any attempt to execute so dread 
 ful a purpose ; and, with the aid of either one of them, 
 I had no fear of being able to prevent its accomplish- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 107 
 
 ment. Being disappointed in this expectation, it became 
 absolutely necessary that I should attend to my own 
 safety, as a further resistance on my part might possibly 
 be considered by men in their frightful condition a suffi 
 cient excuse for refusing me fair play in the tragedy that 
 I knew would speedily be enacted. 
 
 I now told them I was willing to submit to the propo 
 sal, merely requesting a delay of about one hour, in 
 order that the fog which had gathered around us might 
 have an opportunity of lifting, when it was possible that 
 the ship we had seen might be again in sight. After 
 great difficulty I obtained from them a promise to wait 
 thus long ; and, as I had anticipated (a breeze rapidly 
 coming in), the fog lifted before the hour had expired, 
 when, no vessel appearing in sight, we prepared to draw 
 lots. 
 
 It is with extreme reluctance that I dwell upon the 
 appalling scene which ensued ; a scene which, with its 
 minutest details, no after events have been able to efface 
 in the slightest degree from my memory, arid whose 
 stern recollection will imbitter every future moment of 
 my existence. Let me run over this portion of my nar 
 rative with as much haste as the nature of the events to 
 be spoken of will permit. The only method we could 
 devise for the terrific lottery, in which we were to take 
 each a chance, was that of drawing straws. Small 
 splinters of wood were made to answer our purpose, and 
 it was agreed that I should be the holder. I retired to 
 one end of the hulk, while my poor companions silently 
 took up their station in the other with their backs turned 
 towards me. The bitterest anxiety which I endured at 
 any period of this fearful drama was while I occupied 
 myself in the arrangement of the lots. There are few 
 conditions into which man can possibly fall where he 
 will not feel a deep interest in the preservation of his 
 existence ; an interest momentarily increasing with the 
 frailness of the tenure by which that existence may be 
 held. But now that the silent, definite, and stern nature 
 of the business in which I was engaged (so different 
 from the tumultuous dangers of the storm or the gradu- 
 
108 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ally approaching horrors of famine) allowed me to re 
 flect on the few chances I had of escaping the most ap 
 palling of deaths a death for the most appalling of pur 
 poses every particle of that energy which had so long 
 buoyed me up departed like feathers before the wind, 
 leaving me a helpless prey to the most abject and pitia 
 ble terror. I could not, at first, even summon up suffi 
 cient strength to tear and fit together the small splinters 
 of wood, my fingers absolutely refusing their office, and 
 my knees knocking violently against each other. My 
 mind ran over rapidly a thousand absurd projects by 
 which to avoid becoming a partner in the awful specula 
 tion. I thought of falling on my knees to my compan 
 ions, and entreating them to let me escape this necessity ; 
 of suddenly rushing upon them, and, by putting one of 
 them to death, of rendering the decision by lot useless 
 in short, of everything but of going through with the mat 
 ter I had in hand. At last, after wasting a long time in 
 this imbecile conduct, I was recalled to my senses by 
 the voice of Parker, who urged me to relieve them at 
 once from the terrible anxiety they were enduring. 
 Even then I could not bring myself to arrange the splin 
 ters upon the spot, but thought over every species of fi 
 nesse by which I could trick some one of my fellow- 
 sufferers to draw the short straw, as it had been agreed 
 that whoever drew the shortest of four splinters from 
 my hand was to die for the preservation of the rest. 
 Before any one condemn me for this apparent heartless- 
 ness, let him be placed in a situation precisely similar to 
 my own. 
 
 At length delay was no longer possible, and, with a 
 heart almost bursting from my bosom, I advanced to the 
 region of the forecastle, where my companions were 
 awaiting me. I held out my hand with the splinters, 
 and Peters immediately drew. He was free his, at 
 least, was not the shortest ; and there was now another 
 chance against my escape. I summoned up all my 
 strength, and passed the lots to Augustus. He also 
 drew immediately, and he also was free ; and now, 
 whether I should live or die, the chances were no more 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 109 
 
 than precisely even. At this moment all the fierceness 
 of the tiger possessed my bosom, and I felt towards my 
 poor fellow-creature, Parker, the most intense.., the most 
 diabolical hatred. But the feeling did not last ; and, at 
 length, with a convulsive shudder and closed eyes, I 
 held out the two remaining splinters towards him. It 
 was full five minutes before he could summon resolution 
 to draw, during which period of heartrending suspense 
 I never once opened my eyes. Presently one of the 
 two lots was quickly drawn from my hand. The decis 
 ion was then over, yet I knew not whether it was for 
 me or against me. No one spoke, and still I dared not 
 satisfy myself by looking at the splinter I held. Peters 
 at length took me by the hand, and I forced myself to look 
 up, when I immediately saw by the countenance of Par 
 ker that I was safe, and that he it was who had been 
 doomed to suffer. Gasping for breath, I fell senseless 
 to the deck. 
 
 I recovered from my swoon in time to behold the 
 consummation of the tragedy in the death of him who 
 had been chiefly instrumental in bringing it about. He 
 made no resistance whatever, and was stabbed in the 
 back by Peters, when he fell instantly dead. I must 
 not dwell upon the fearful repast which immediately en 
 sued. Such things may be imagined, but words have 
 no power to impress the mind with the exquisite horror of 
 their reality. Let it suffice to say that, having in some 
 measure appeased the raging thirst which consumed us 
 by the blood of the victim, and having by common con 
 sent taken off the hands, feet, and head, throwing them, 
 together with the entrails, into the sea, we devoured the 
 rest of the body, piecemeal, during the four ever mem 
 orable days of the seventeenth eighteenth, nineteenth, and 
 twentieth of the month. 
 
 On the nineteenth, there coming on a smart shower 
 which lasted fifteen or twenty minutes, we contrived to 
 catch some water by means of a sheet which had been 
 fished up from the cabin by our drag just after the gale. 
 The quantity we took in all did not amount to more than 
 K 
 
110 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 half a gallon ; but even this scanty allowance supplied 
 us with comparative strength and hope. 
 
 On the twenty-first we were again reduced to the last 
 necessity. The weather still remained warm and pleas 
 ant, with occasional fogs and light breezes, most usually 
 from N. to W. 
 
 On the twenty-second, as we were sitting close hud 
 dled together, gloomily revolving over our lamentable 
 condition, there flashed through my mind all at once an 
 idea which inspired me with a bright gleam of hope. I 
 remembered that, when the foremast had been cut away, 
 Peters, being in the windward chains, passed one of the 
 axes into my hand, requesting me to put it, if possible, in 
 a place of security, and that a few minutes before the last 
 heavy sea struck the brig and filled her I had taken this 
 axe into the forecastle, and laid it in one of the larboard 
 berths. I now thought it possible that, by getting at 
 this axe, we might cut through the deck over the store 
 room, and thus readily supply ourselves with provis 
 ions. 
 
 When I communicated this project to my companions, 
 they uttered a feeble shout of joy, and \ve all proceeded 
 forthwith to the forecastle. The difficulty of descend 
 ing here was greater than that of going down in the 
 cabin, the opening being much smaller, for it will be re 
 membered that the whole framework about the cabin 
 companion-hatch had been carried away, whereas the 
 forecastle-way, being a simple hatch of only about three 
 feet square, had remained uninjured. I did not hesitate, 
 however, to attempt the descent ; and, a rope being fast 
 ened round my body as before, I plunged boldly in, feet 
 foremost, made my way quickly to the berth, and, at the 
 very first attempt, brought up the axe. It was hailed 
 with the most ecstatic joy and triumph, and the ease 
 with which it had been obtained was regarded as an omen 
 of our ultimate preservation. 
 
 We now commenced cutting at the deck with all the 
 energy of rekindled hope, Peters and myself taking the 
 axe by turns, Augustus's wounded arm not permitting him 
 to aid us in any degree. As we were still so feeble as to be 
 
A. GORDON PYM. Ill 
 
 scarcely able to stand unsupported, and could consequently 
 work but a minute or two without resting, it soon became 
 evident that many long hours would be requisite to ac 
 complish our task that is, to cut an opening sufficiently 
 large to admit of a free access to the storeroom. This 
 consideration, however, did not discourage us ; and, 
 working all night by the light of the moon, we suc 
 ceeded in effecting our purpose by daybreak on the 
 morning of the twenty-third. 
 
 Peters now volunteered to go down ; and, having made 
 all arrangements as before, he descended, and soon re 
 turned, bringing up with him a small jar, which, to our 
 great joy, proved to be full of olives. Having shared 
 these among us, and devoured them with the greatest 
 avidity, we proceeded to let him down again. This time 
 lie succeeded beyond our utmost expectations, returning 
 instantly with a large ham and a bottle of Madeira wine. 
 Of the latter we each took a moderate sup, having 
 learned by experience the pernicious consequences of 
 indulging too freely. The ham, except about two pounds 
 near the bone, was not in a condition to be eatea, having 
 been entirely spoiled by the salt water. The sound part 
 was divided among us. Peters and Augustus, not being 
 able to restrain their appetite, swallowed theirs upon the 
 instant ; but I was more cautious, and ate but a small 
 portion of mine, dreading the thirst which I knew would 
 ensue. We now rested a while from our labours, which 
 had been intolerably severe. 
 
 By noon, feeling somewhat strengthened and re 
 freshed, we again renewed our attempt at getting up pro 
 vision, Peters and myself going down alternately, and 
 always with more or less success, until sundown. Du 
 ring this interval we had the good fortune to bring up, 
 altogether, four more small jars of olives, another ham, 
 a carboy containing nearly three gallons of excellent 
 Cape Madeira wine, and, what gave us still more delight, 
 a small tortoise of the Gallipago breed, several of which 
 had been taken on board by Captain Barnard, as the 
 Grampus was leaving port, from the schooner Mary 
 Pitts, just returned from a sealing voyage in the Pacific. 
 
112 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 In a subsequent portion of this narrative I shall have 
 frequent occasion to mention this species of tortoise. It 
 is found principally, as most of my readers may know, 
 in the group of islands called the Gallipagos, which, 
 indeed, derive their name from the animal the Spanish 
 word Gallipago meaning a fresh-water terapin. From 
 the peculiarity of their shape and action they have been 
 sometimes called the elephant tortoise. They are fre 
 quently found of an enormous size. I have myself seen 
 several which would weigh from twelve to fifteen hundred 
 pounds, although I do not remember that any navigator 
 speaks of having seen them weighing more than eight 
 hundred. Their appearance is singular, and even dis 
 gusting. Their steps are very slow, measured, and 
 heavy, their bodies being carried about a foot from the 
 ground. Their neck is long, and exceedingly slender ; 
 from eighteen inches to two feet is a very common 
 length, and I killed one, where the distance from the 
 shoulder to the extremity of the head was no less than 
 three feet ten inches. The head has a striking resem 
 blance to that of a serpent. They can exist without 
 food for an almost incredible length of time, instances 
 having been known where they have been thrown into 
 the hold of a vessel and lain two years without nourish 
 ment of any kind being as fat, and, in every respect, in 
 as good order at the expiration of the time as when they 
 were first put in. In one particular these extraordinary 
 animals bear a resemblance to the dromedary, or camel 
 of the desert. In a bag at the root of the neck they 
 carry with them a constant supply of water. In some 
 instances, upon killing them after a full year's depriva 
 tion of all nourishment, as much as three gallons of per 
 fectly sweet and fresh water have been found in their 
 bags. Their food is chiefly wild parsley and celery, 
 with purslain, sea-kelp, and prickly pears, upon which 
 latter vegetable they thrive wonderfully, a great quantity 
 of it being usually found on the hillsides near the shore 
 wherever the animal itself is discovered. They are ex 
 cellent and highly nutritious food, and have, no doubt, 
 been the means of preserving the lives of thousands of 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 113 
 
 seamen employed in the whale-fishery and other pursuits 
 in the Pacific. 
 
 The one which we had the good fortune to bring up 
 from the storeroom was not of a large size, weighing 
 probably sixty-five or seventy pounds. It was a female, 
 and in excellent condition, being exceedingly fat, and 
 having more than a quart of limpid and sweet water in 
 its bag. This was indeed a treasure ; and, falling on our 
 knees with, one accord, we returned fervent thanks to God 
 for so seasonable a relief. 
 
 We had great difficulty in getting the animal up 
 through the opening, as its struggles were fierce and its 
 strength prodigious. It was upon the point of making 
 its escape from Peters's grasp, and slipping back into 
 the water, when Augustus, throwing a rope with a slip 
 knot around its throat, held it up in this manner until I 
 jumped into the hole by the side of Peters, and assisted 
 him in lifting it out. 
 
 The water we drew carefully from the bag into the 
 jug, which, it will be remembered, had been brought up 
 before from the cabin. Having done this, we broke off 
 the neck of a bottle so as to form, with the cork, a kind 
 of glass, holding not quite half a gill. We then each 
 drank one of these measures full, and resolved to limit 
 ourselves to this quantity per day as long as it should 
 hold out. 
 
 During the last two or three days, the weather having 
 been dry and pleasant, the bedding we had obtained 
 from the cabin, as well as our clothing, had become thor 
 oughly dry, so that we passed this night (that of the 
 twenty-third) in comparative comfort, enjoying a tranquil 
 repose, after having supped plentifully on olives and ham, 
 with a small allowance of the wine. Being afraid of 
 losing some of our stores overboard during the night, in 
 the event of a breeze springing up, we secured them as 
 well as possible with cordage to the fragments of the 
 windlass. Our tortoise, which we were anxious to pre 
 serve alive as long as we could, we threw on his back, 
 and otherwise carefully fastened. 
 K2 
 
114 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 , 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 JULY 24. This morning saw us wonderfully recruit 
 ed in spirits and strength. Notwithstanding the peril 
 ous 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 fort 
 night 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 our 
 selves 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 pos 
 sible 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. Ex 
 perience having taught us, however, the best method of 
 arranging our lashings, we weathered this dreary night 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 115 
 
 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 other 
 wise. 
 
 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, rinding great relief and 
 strength from the mixture, without the distressing intoxi 
 cation 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 ar 
 ticles, 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 au 
 dacious manner in which an enormously large one ap 
 proached 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 
 
116 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 our 
 selves 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 swim 
 ming 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 pos 
 sible over to the windward, placing them outside the 
 hull, below th-3 main-chains. The sea very smooth all 
 day, with little or no wind. 
 
 July 29. A continuance of the same weather. Au 
 gustus's wounded arm began to evince symptoms of 
 mortification. He complained of drowsiness and exces 
 sive 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 at 
 tempts 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 117 
 
 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 fa 
 tigue, 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 tor 
 toise, 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 thun 
 der 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 
 
118 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 food, or even swallowing any liquid, without great diffi 
 culty. 
 
 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 de 
 cayed 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 clash 
 ing 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 bot 
 tles of pickled tortoise. Our thirst could now scarcely 
 be endured, and we tried in vain to relieve it by wine, 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 119 
 
 which seemed only to add fuel to the flame, and excited 
 us to a high degree of intoxication. We afterward en 
 deavoured 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 opportu 
 nity 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 compan 
 ion 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 alto 
 gether 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 fre 
 quently 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 im 
 possible to conceive our sufferings from thirst at this 
 period. We passed a sleepless night, both on this ac 
 count 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 secu 
 ring 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, arid, 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 
 
120 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 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 im 
 possible to sleep. 
 
 August 4. A little before daybreak we perceived that 
 the hulk was heeling over, and aroused ourselves to pre 
 vent 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 hap 
 pen, 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 com 
 pletely beneath the vessel, and my strength utterly ex 
 hausted, I scarcely made a struggle for life, and resigned 
 myself, in a few seconds, to die. But liere 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 vio 
 lently 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 in- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 121 
 
 debted 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 se 
 curing 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 attempt 
 ing 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 ra 
 tional 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 ren 
 dered 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; 
 L 
 
122 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 thickly covered with large barnacles, which proved to be 
 excellent and highly nutritious food. Thus, in two im 
 portant 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 ex 
 hausted, 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 condi 
 tion. 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 car 
 ried 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 car 
 boy ; 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 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 123 
 
 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 in 
 stant descried a sail to the eastward, and evidently com 
 ing towards us ! We hailed the glorious sight with a 
 long, although feeble shout of rapture ; and began in 
 stantly 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 con 
 tinued 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 dis 
 covered 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 ob 
 serve 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 re 
 peatedly perpetrated at sea, under circumstances very 
 nearly similar, and by beings who were regarded as be 
 longing to the human species.* In this instance, however, 
 
 * 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 hun 
 dred 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 re 
 mained 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 Sam 
 uel 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 
 
124 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 by the mercy of God, we were destined to be most hap 
 pily 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. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE Jane Guy was a fine-looking topsail schooner of 
 a hundred and eighty tons burden. She was unusually 
 sharp in the bows, and on a wind, in moderate weather, 
 the fastest sailer I have ever seen. Her qualities, how 
 ever, as a rough sea-boat, were not so good, and her 
 draught of water was by far too great for the trade to 
 which she was destined. For this peculiar service a 
 larger vessel, and one of a light proportionate draught, is 
 desirable say a vessel of from thjee to three hundred 
 and fifty tons. She should be barque-rigged, and in 
 other respects of a different construction from the usual 
 South Sea ships. It is absolutely necessary that she 
 should be well armed. She should have, say ten or 
 twelve twelve pound carronades, and two or three long 
 twelves, with brass blunderbusses, and water-tight arm- 
 chests for each top. Her anchors and cables should be 
 of far greater strength than is required for any other 
 
 in with the brig Dromeo, Captain Perkins, who landed the two suf 
 ferers 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** 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 125 
 
 species of trade, and, above all, her crew should be nu 
 merous and efficient not less, for such a vessel as I 
 have described, than fifty or sixty able-bodied men. 
 The Jane Guy had a crew of thirty-five, all able seamen, 
 besides the captain and mate, but she was not altogether 
 as well armed or otherwise equipped as a navigator ac 
 quainted with the difficulties and dangers of the trade 
 could have desired. 
 
 Captain Guy was a gentleman of great urbanity of 
 manner, and of considerable experience in the southern 
 traffic, to which he had devoted a great portion of his 
 life. He was deficient, however, in energy, and, conse 
 quently, in that spirit of enterprise which is here so ab 
 solutely requisite. He was part owner of the vessel in 
 which he sailed, and was invested with discretionary 
 powers to cruise in the South Seas for any cargo which 
 might come most readily to hand. He had on board, as 
 usual in such voyages, beads, looking-glasses, tinder- 
 works, axes, hatchets, saws, adzes, planes, chisels, 
 gouges, gimlets, files, spokeshaves, rasps, hammers, 
 nails, knives, scissors, razors, needles, thread, crockery- 
 ware, calico, trinkets, and other similar articles. 
 
 The schooner sailed from Liverpool on the tenth of 
 July, crossed the Tropic of Cancer on the twenty-fifth, in 
 longitude twenty degrees west, and reached Sal, one of 
 the Cape Verd Islands, on the twenty-ninth, where she 
 took in salt and other necessaries for the voyage. On 
 .the third of August she left the Cape Verds and steered 
 southwest, stretching over towards the coast of Brazil 
 so as to cross the equator between the meridians of 
 twenty-eight and thirty degrees west longitude. This 
 is the course usually taken by vessels bound from Eu 
 rope to the Cape of Good Hope, or by that route to the 
 East Indies. By proceeding thus they avoid the calms 
 and strong contrary currents which continually prevail 
 on the coast of Guinea, while, in the end, it is found to 
 be the shortest track, as westerly winds are never want 
 ing afterward by which to reach the Cape. It was Cap 
 tain Guy's intention to make his first stoppage at Ker- 
 jguelen's Land I hardly know for what reason. On the 
 L2 
 
126 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 day we were picked up the schooner was off Cape St. 
 Roque, in longitude 31 W. ; so that, when found, we 
 had drifted probably, from north to south, not less than 
 five-and-twenty degrees. 
 
 On board the Jane Guy we were treated with all the 
 kindness our distressed situation demanded. In about 
 a fortnight, during which time we continued steering to 
 the southeast, with gentle breezes and fine weather, both 
 Peters and myself recovered entirely from the effects of 
 our late privation and dreadful suffering, and we began 
 to remember what had passed rather as a frightful dream 
 from which we had been happily awakened, than as 
 events which had taken place in sober and naked reality. 
 I have since found that this species of partial oblivion is 
 usually brought about by sudden transition, whether from 
 joy to sorrow or from sorrow to joy the degree of for- 
 getfulness being proportioned to the degree of difference 
 in the exchange. Thus, in my own case, I now feel it 
 impossible to realize the full extent of the misery which 
 I endured during the days spent upon the hulk. The 
 incidents are remembered, but not the feelings which the 
 incidents elicited at the time of their occurrence. I only 
 know that, when they did occur, I then thought human 
 nature could sustain nothing more of agony. 
 
 We continued our voyage for some weeks without 
 any incidents of greater moment than the occasional 
 meeting with whaling-ships, and more frequently with 
 the black or right whale, so called in contradistinction 
 to the spermaceti. These, however, were chiefly found 
 south of the twenty-fifth parallel. On the sixteenth of 
 September, being in the vicinity of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, the schooner encountered her first gale of any vi 
 olence since leaving Liverpool. In this neighbourhood, 
 but more frequently to the south and east of the promon 
 tory (we were to the westward), navigators have often to 
 contend with storms from the northward which rage with 
 great fury. They always bring with them a heavy sea, 
 and one of their most dangerous features is the instanta 
 neous chopping round of the wind, an occurrence almost 
 certain to take place during the greatest force of th.* 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 127 
 
 gale. A perfect hurricane will be blowing at one mo 
 ment from the northward or northeast, and in the next 
 not a breath of wind will be felt in that direction, while 
 from the southwest it will come out all at once with a 
 violence almost inconceivable. A bright spot to the 
 southward is the sure forerunner of the change, and ves 
 sels are thus enabled to take the proper precautions. 
 
 It was about six in the morning when the blow came 
 on with a white squall, and, as usual, from the northward. 
 By eight it had increased very much, and brought down 
 upon us one of the most tremendous seas I had then 
 <ever beheld. Everything had been made as snug as 
 possible, but the schooner laboured excessively, and 
 gave evidence of her bad qualities as a seaboat, pitching 
 her forecastle under at every plunge, and with the great 
 est difficulty struggling up from one wave before she 
 was buried in another. Just before sunset the bright 
 spot for which we had been on the lookout made its ap 
 pearance in the southwest, and in an hour afterward we 
 perceived the little headsail we carried flapping listless 
 ly against the mast. In two minutes more, in spite of 
 every preparation, we were hurled on our beam-ends as 
 if by magic, and a perfect wilderness of foam made a 
 clear breach over us as we lay. The blow from the 
 southwest, however, luckily proved to be nothing more 
 than a squall, and we had the good fortune to right the 
 vessel without the loss of a spar. A heavy cross sea 
 gave us great trouble for a few hours after this, but to 
 wards morning we found ourselves in nearly as good 
 condition as before the gale. Captain Guy considered 
 that he had made an escape little less than miraculous. 
 
 On the thirteenth of October we came in sight of 
 Prince Edward's Island, in latitude 46 53' S., longitude 
 37 46' E. Two days afterward we found ourselves 
 near Possession Island, and presently passed the islands 
 of Crozet, in latitude 42 59' S., longitude 48 E. On 
 the eighteenth we made Kerguelen's or Desolation Island, 
 in the Southern Indian Ocean, and came to anchor in 
 Christmas Harbour, having four fathoms of water. 
 
 This island, or rather group of islands, bears south- 
 
128 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 east from the Cape of Good Hope, and is distant there 
 from nearly eight hundred leagues. It was first discov 
 ered in 1772, by the Baron de Kergulen, or Kerguelen, 
 a Frenchman, who, thinking the land to form a portion 
 of an extensive southern continent, carried home infor 
 mation to that effect, which produced much excitement 
 at the time. The government, taking the matter up, 
 sent the baron back in the following year for the purpose 
 of giving his new discovery a critical examination, when 
 the mistake was discovered. In 1777, Captain Cook 
 fell in with the same group, and gave to the principal 
 one the name of Desolation Island, a title which it cer 
 tainly well deserves. Upon approaching the land, how 
 ever, the navigator might be induced to suppose other 
 wise, as the sides of most of the hills, from September 
 to March, are clothed with very brilliant verdure. This 
 deceitful appearance is caused by a small plant resem 
 bling saxifrage, which is abundant, growing in large 
 patches on a species of crumbling moss. Besides this 
 plant there is scarcely a sign of vegetation on the island, 
 if we except some coarse rank grass near the harbour, 
 some lichen, and a shrub which bears resemblance to a 
 cabbage shooting into seed, and which has a bitter and 
 acrid taste. 
 
 The face of the country is hilly, although none of the 
 hills can be called lofty. Their tops are perpetually 
 covered with snow. There are several harbours, of 
 which Christmas Harbour is the most convenient. It is 
 the first to be met with on the northeast side of the 
 island after passing Cape Francois, which forms the 
 northern shore, and, by its peculiar shape, serves to dis 
 tinguish the harbour. Its projecting point terminates in 
 a high rock, through which is a large hole, forming a 
 natural arch. The entrance is in latitude 48 C 40' S., 
 longitude 69 6' E. Passing in here, good anchorage 
 may be found under the shelter of several small islands, 
 which form a sufficient .protection from all easterly 
 winds. Proceeding on eastwardly from this anchorage 
 you come to Wasp Bay, at the head of the harbour. 
 This is a small basin, completely landlocked, into which 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 129 
 
 you can go with four fathoms, and find anchorage in 
 from ten to three, hard clay bottom. A ship might lie 
 here with her best bower ahead all the year round with 
 out risk. To the westward, at the head of Wasp Bay, 
 is a small stream of excellent water, easily procured. 
 
 Some seal of the fur and hair species are still to be 
 found on Kerguelen's Island, and sea elephants abound. 
 The feathered tribes are discovered in great numbers. 
 Penguins are very plenty, and of these there are four dif 
 ferent kinds. The royal penguin, so called from its size 
 and beautiful plumage, is the largest. The upper part 
 of the body is usually gray, sometimes of a lilach tint ; 
 the under portion of the purest white imaginable. The 
 head is of a glossy and most brilliant black, the feet 
 also. The chief beauty of the plumage, however, con 
 sists in two broad stripes of a gold colour, which pass 
 along from the head to the breast. The bill is long, 
 and either pink or bright scarlet. These birds walk 
 erect, with a stately carriage. They carry their heads 
 high, with their wings drooping like two arms, and, as 
 their tails project from their body in a line with the legs, 
 the resemblance to a human figure is very striking, and 
 would be apt to deceive the spectator at a casual glance 
 or in the gloom of the evening. The royal penguins 
 which we met with on Kerguelen's Land were rather 
 larger than a goose. The other kinds are the macaroni, 
 the jackass, and the rookery penguin. These are much 
 smaller, less beautiful in plumage, and different in other 
 respects. 
 
 Besides the penguin many other birds are here to be 
 found, among which may be mentioned seahens, blue 
 peterels, teal, ducks, Port Egmont hens, shags, Cape pi 
 geons, the nelly, seaswallows, terns, seagulls, Mother 
 Carey's chickens, Mother Carey's geese, or the great pe- 
 terel, and, lastly, the albatross. 
 
 The great peterel is as large as the common albatross, 
 and is carnivorous. It is frequently called the break- 
 bones, or osprey peterel. They are not at all shy, and, 
 when properly cooked, are palatable food. In flying 
 they sometimes sail very close to the surface of the 
 
130 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 water, with the wings expanded, without appearing to 
 move them in the least degree, or make any exertion 
 with them whatever. 
 
 The albatross is one of the largest and fiercest of the 
 South Sea birds. It is of the gull species, and takes its 
 prey on the wing, never coming on land except for the 
 purpose of breeding. Between this bird and the penguin 
 the most singular friendship exists. Their nests are 
 constructed with great uniformity, upon a plan concerted 
 between the two species that of the albatross being 
 placed in the centre of a little square formed by the 
 nests of four penguins. Navigators have agreed in cal 
 ling an assemblage of such encampments a rookery. 
 These rookeries have been often described, but, as my 
 readers may not all have seen these descriptions, and as 
 I shall have occasion hereafter to speak of the penguin 
 and albatross, it will not be amiss to say something here 
 of their mode of building and living. 
 
 When the season for incubation arrives, the birds as 
 semble in vast numbers, and for some days appear to be 
 deliberating upon the proper course to be pursued. At 
 length they proceed to action. A level piece of ground 
 is selected, of suitable extent, usually comprising three 
 or four acres, and situated as near the sea as possible, 
 being still beyond its reach. The spot is chosen with 
 reference to its evenness of surface, and that is preferred 
 which is the least encumbered with stones. This mat 
 ter being arranged, the birds proceed, with one accord, 
 and actuated apparently by one mind, to trace out, with 
 mathematical accuracy, either a square or other parallel 
 ogram, as may best suit the nature of the ground, and of 
 just sufficient size to accommodate easily all the birds 
 assembled, and no more in this particular seeming de 
 termined upon preventing the access of future stragglers 
 who have not participated in the labour of the encamp 
 ment. One side of the place thus marked out runs par 
 allel with the water's edge, and is left open for ingress 
 or egress. 
 
 Having defined the limits of the rookery, the colony 
 now begin to clear it of every species of rubbish, pick' 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 131 
 
 ing up stone by stone, and carrying them outside of the 
 lines, and close by them, so as to form a wall on the 
 three inland sides. Just within this wall a perfectly 
 level and smooth walk is formed, from six to eight feet 
 wide, and extending around the encampment thus serv 
 ing the purpose of a general promenade. 
 
 The next process is to partition out the whole area into 
 small squares exactly equal in size. This is done by 
 forming narrow paths, very smooth, and crossing each 
 other at right angles throughout the entire extent of the 
 rookery. At each intersection of these paths the nest 
 of an albatross is constructed, and a penguin's nest in the 
 centre of each square thus every penguin is surrounded 
 by four albatrosses, and each albatross by a like number 
 of penguins. The penguin's nest consists of a hole in 
 the earth, very shallow, being only just of sufficient 
 depth to keep her single egg from rolling. The alba 
 tross is somewhat less simple in her arrangements, erect 
 ing a hillock about a foot high and two in diameter. 
 This is made of earth, seaweed, and shells. On its 
 summit she builds her nest. 
 
 The birds take especial care never to leave their nests 
 unoccupied for an instant during the period of incuba 
 tion, or, indeed, until the young progeny are sufficiently 
 strong to take care of themselves. While the male is 
 absent at sea in search of food, the female remains on 
 duty, and it is only upon the return of her partner that 
 she ventures abroad. The eggs are never left uncov 
 ered at all while one bird leaves the nest, the other 
 nestling in by its side. This precaution is rendered ne-: 
 cessary by the thievish propensities prevalent in the 
 rookery, the inhabitants making no scruple to purloin 
 each other's eggs at every good opportunity. 
 
 Although there are some rookeries in which the pen 
 guin and albatross are the sole population, yet in most 
 of them a variety of oceanic birds are to be met with, 
 enjoying all the privileges of citizenship, and scattering 
 their nests here and there, wherever they can find room, 
 never interfering, however, with the stations of the 
 larger species. The appearance of such encampments, 
 
132 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 when seen from a distance, is exceedingly singular. 
 The whole atmosphere just above the settlement is dark 
 ened with the immense number of the albatross (min 
 gled with the smaller tribes) which are continually hov 
 ering over it, either going to the ocean or returning 
 home. At the same time a crowd of penguins are to be 
 observed, some passing to and fro in the narrow alleys, 
 and some marching, with the military strut so peculiar to 
 them, around the general promenade-ground which en 
 circles the rookery. In short, survey it as we will, no 
 thing can be more astonishing than the spirit of reflec 
 tion evinced by these feathered beings, and nothing 
 surely can be better calculated to elicit reflection in 
 every well-regulated human intellect. 
 
 On the morning after our arrival in Christmas Harbour 
 the chief mate, Mr. Patterson, took the boats, and (al 
 though it was somewhat early in the season) went in 
 search of seal, leaving the captain and a young relation 
 of his on a point of barren land to the westward, they 
 having some business, whose nature I could not ascer 
 tain, to transact in the interior of the island. Captain 
 Guy took with him a bottle, in which was a sealed letter, 
 and made his way from the point on which he was set 
 on shore towards one of the highest peaks in the place. 
 It is probable that his design was to leave the letter on 
 that height for some vessel which he expected to come 
 after him. As soon as we lost sight of him we pro 
 ceeded (Peters and myself being in the mate's boat) on 
 our cruise around the coast, looking for seal. In this 
 business we were occupied about three weeks, examin 
 ing with great care every nook and corner, not only of 
 Kerguelen's Land, but of the several small islands in 
 the vicinity. Our labours, however, were not crowned 
 with any important success. We saw a great many fur 
 seal, but they were exceedingly shy, and, with the greatest 
 exertions, we could only procure three hundred and fifty 
 skins in all. Sea elephants were abundant, especially 
 on the western coast of the main island, but of these we 
 killed only twenty, and this with great difficulty. On 
 the smaller islands we discovered a good many of the 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 133 
 
 hair seal, but did not molest them. We returned to the 
 schooner on the eleventh, where we found Captain Guy 
 and his nephew, who gave a very bad account of the in 
 terior, representing it as one of the most dreary and ut 
 terly barren countries in the world. They had remained 
 two nights on the island, owing to some misunderstand 
 ing, on the part of the second mate, in regard to the 
 sending a jollyboat from the schooner to take them off. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ON the twelfth we made sail from Christmas Harbour, 
 retracing our way to the westward, and leaving Marion's 
 Island, one of Crozet's group, on the larboard. We af 
 terward passed Prince Edward's Island, leaving it also 
 on our left ; then, steering more to the northward, made, 
 in fifteen days, the islands of Tristan d'Acunha, in lati 
 tude 37 8' S., longitude 12 8' W. 
 
 This group, now so well known, and which consists 
 of three circular islands, was first discovered by the Por 
 tuguese, and was visited afterward by the Dutch in 1643, 
 and by the French in 1767. The three islands together 
 form a triangle, and are distant from each other about 
 ten miles, there being fine open passages between. The 
 land in all of them is very high, especially in Tristan 
 d'Acunha, properly so called. This is the largest of 
 the group, being fifteen miles in circumference, and so 
 elevated that it can be seen in clear weather at the dis 
 tance of eighty or ninety miles. A part of the land to 
 wards the north rises more than a thousand feet per 
 pendicularly from the sea. A tableland at this height 
 extends back nearly to the centre of the island, and 
 from this tableland arises a lofty cone like that of Ten- 
 eriffe. The lower half of this cone is clothed with trees 
 of good size, but the upper region is barren rock, usually 
 hidden among the clouds, and covered with snow during 
 M 
 
134 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the greater part of the year. There are no shoals or 
 other dangers about the island, the shores being remark 
 ably bold and the water deep. On the northwestern 
 coast is a bay, with a beach of black sand, where a 
 landing with boats can be easily effected, provided there 
 be a southerly wind. Plenty of excellent water may 
 here be readily procured ; also cod, and other fish, may 
 be taken with hook and line. 
 
 The next island in point of size, and the most west- 
 wardly of the group, is that called the Inaccessible. Its 
 precise situation is 37 17' S. latitude, longitude 12 
 24' W. It is seven or eight miles in circumference, 
 and on all sides presents a forbidding and precipitous 
 aspect. Its top is perfectly flat, and the whole region 
 is steril, nothing growing upon it except a few stunted 
 shrubs. 
 
 Nightingale Island, the smallest and most southerly, 
 is in latitude 37 26' S., longitude 12 12' W. Off its 
 southern extremity is a high ledge of rocky islets ; a 
 few also of a similar appearance are seen to the north 
 east. The ground is irregular and steril, and a deep 
 valley partially separates it. 
 
 The shores of these islands abound, in the proper sea 
 son, with sea lions, sea elephants, the hair and fur seal, 
 together with a great variety of oceanic birds. Whales 
 are also plenty in their vicinity. Owing to the ease 
 with which these various animals were here formerly 
 taken, the group has been much visited since its dis 
 covery. The Dutch and French frequented it at a very 
 early period. In 1790, Captain Patten, of the ship In 
 dustry, of Philadelphia, made Tristan d'Acunha, where 
 he remained seven months (from August, 1790, to April, 
 1791) for the purpose of collecting sealskins. In this 
 time he gathered no less than five thousand six hundred, 
 and says that he would have had no difficulty in loading 
 a large ship with oil in three weeks. Upon his arrival 
 he found no quadrupeds, with the exception of a few 
 wild goats the island now abounds with all our most 
 valuable domestic animals, which have been introduced 
 by subsequent navigators. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 
 
 I believe it was not long after Captain Patten's visit 
 that Captain Colquhoun, of the American brig Betsey, 
 touched at the largest of the islands for the purpose of 
 refreshment. He planted onions, potatoes, cabbages, 
 and a great many other vegetables, an abundance of all 
 which are now to be met with. 
 
 In 1811, a Captain Heywood, in the Nereus, visited 
 Tristan. He found there three Americans, who were 
 residing upon the islands to prepare sealskins and oil. 
 One of these men was named Jonathan Lambert, and he 
 called himself the sovereign of the country. He had 
 cleared and cultivated about sixty acres of land, and 
 turned his attention to raising the coffee-plant and sugar 
 cane, with which he had been furnished by the American 
 minister at Rio Janeiro. This settlement, however, was 
 finally abandoned, and in 1817 the islands were taken 
 possession of by the British government, who sent a de 
 tachment for that purpose from the Cape of Good Hope. 
 They did not, however, retain them long; but, upon the 
 evacuation of the country as a British possession, two or 
 three English families took up their residence there in 
 dependently of the government. On the twenty-fifth of 
 March, 1824, the Berwick, Captain Jeffrey, from London 
 to Van Diemen's Land, arrived at the place, where they 
 found an Englishman of the name of Glass, formerly a 
 corporal in the British artillery. He claimed to be su 
 preme governor of the islands, and had under his control 
 twenty- one men and three women. He gave a very fa 
 vourable account of the salubrity of the climate and of 
 the productiveness of the soil. The population occu 
 pied themselves chiefly in collecting sealskins and sea 
 elephant oil, with which they traded to the Cape of Good 
 Hope, Glass owning a small schooner. At the period 
 of our arrival the governor was still a resident, but his 
 little community had multiplied, there being* fifty-six per 
 sons upon Tristan, besides a smaller settlement of seven * 
 on Nightingale Island. We had no difficulty in procu 
 ring almost every kind of refreshment which we required 
 sheep, hogs, bullocks, rabbits, poultry, goats, fish in 
 great variety, and vegetables were abundant. Having 
 
136 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 come to anchor close in with the large island, in eighteen 
 fathoms, we took all we wanted on board very conve 
 niently. Captain Guy also purchased of Glass five hun 
 dred sealskins and some ivory. We remained here a 
 week, during which the prevailing winds were from the 
 northward and westward, and the weather somewhat 
 hazy. On the fifth of November we made sail to the 
 southward and westward, with the intention of having a 
 thorough search for a group of islands called the Auro 
 ras, respecting whose existence a great diversity of opin 
 ion has existed. 
 
 These islands are said to have been discovered as 
 early as 1762, by the commander of the ship Aurora. 
 In 1790. Captain Manuel de Oyarvido, in the ship Prin 
 cess, belonging to the Royal Philippine Company, sailed, 
 as he asserts, directly among them. In 1794, the Span 
 ish corvette Atrevida went with the determination of as 
 certaining their precise situation, and, in a paper pub 
 lished by the Royal Hydrographical Society of Madrid in 
 the year 1809, the following language is used respecting 
 this expedition. " The corvette Atrevida practised, in 
 their immediate vicinity, from the twenty-first to the 
 twenty-seventh of January, all the necessary observa 
 tions, and measured by chronometers the difference of 
 longitude between these islands and the port of Soledad 
 in the Malninas. The islands are three ; they are very 
 nearly in the same meridian ; the centre one is rather 
 low, and the other two may be seen at nine leagues dis 
 tance." The observations made on board the Atrevida 
 give the following results as the precise situation of each 
 island. The most northern is in latitude 52 37' 24" S., 
 longitude 47 43' 15" W. ; the middle one in latitude 
 53 2' 40" S., longitude 47 55' 15" W. ; and the most 
 southern in latitude 53 15' 22" S., longitude 47 57' 
 15" W. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh of January, 1820, Captain 
 James Weddel, of the British navy, sailed from Staten 
 Land also in search of the Auroras. He reports that, 
 having made the most diligent search, and passed not 
 only immediately over the spots indicated by the com- 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 137 
 
 mander of the Atrevida, but in every direction through 
 out the vicinity of these spots, he could discover no in 
 dication of land. These conflicting statements have in 
 duced other navigators to look out for the islands ; and, 
 strange to say, while some have sailed through every 
 inch of sea where they are supposed to lie without find 
 ing them, there have been not a few who declare posi 
 tively that they have seen them, and even been close in 
 with their shores. It was Captain Guy's intention to 
 make every exertion within his power to settle the ques 
 tion so oddly in dispute.* 
 
 We kept on our course, between the south and west, 
 with variable weather, until the twentieth of the month, 
 when we found ourselves on the debated ground, being 
 in latitude 53 15' S., longitude 47 58' W. that is to 
 say, very nearly upon the spot indicated as the situation 
 of the most southern of the group. Not perceiving any 
 sign of land, we continued to the westward in the parallel 
 of fifty-three degrees south, as far as the meridian of fifty 
 degrees west. We then stood to the north as far as the 
 parallel of fifty-two degrees south, when we turned to 
 the eastward, and kept our parallel by double altitudes, 
 morning and evening, and meridian altitudes of the 
 planets and moon. Having thus gone eastwardly to the 
 meridian of the western coast of Georgia, we kept that 
 meridian until we were in the latitude from which we set 
 out. We then took diagonal courses throughout the en 
 tire extent of sea circumscribed, keeping a lookout con 
 stantly at the masthead, and repeating our examination 
 with the greatest care for a period of three weeks, during 
 which the weather was remarkably pleasant and fair, 
 with no haze whatsoever. Of course we were thor 
 oughly satisfied that, whatever islands might have ex 
 isted in this vicinity at any former period, no vestige of 
 them remained at the present day. Since my return 
 
 * Among the vessels which at various times have professed to 
 meet with the Auroras may be mentioned the ship San Miguel, in 
 1769; the ship Aurora, in 1774; the brig Pearl, in 1779; and the 
 ship Dolores, in 1790. They all agree in giving the mean latitude 
 fitty-three degrees south. 
 
138 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 home I find that the same ground was traced over with 
 equal care in 1822 by Captain Johnson, of the Ameri 
 can schooner Henry, and by Captain Morrell, in the 
 American schooner Wasp -in both cases with the same 
 result as in our own. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 IT had been Captain Guy's original intention, after 
 satisfying himself about the Auroras, to proceed through 
 the Strait of Magellan, and up along the western coast 
 of Patagonia ; but infoimation received at Tristan d'Acun- 
 ha induced him to steer to the southward, in the hope of 
 falling in with some small islands said to lie about the 
 parallel of 60 S., longitude 41 20' W. In the event 
 of his not discovering these lands, he designed, should 
 the season prove favourable, to push on towards the 
 pole. Accordingly, on the twelfth of December, we 
 made sail in that direction. On the eighteenth we 
 found ourselves about the station indicated by Glass, 
 and cruised for three days in that neighbourhood without 
 finding any traces of the islands he had mentioned. On 
 the twenty-first, the weather being unusually pleasant, 
 we again made sail to the southward, with the resolu 
 tion of penetrating in that course as far as possible. 
 Before entering upon this portion of my narrative, it may 
 be as well, for the information of those readers who have 
 paid little attention to the progress of discovery in these 
 regions, to give some brief account of the very few at 
 tempts at reaching the southern pole which have hitherto 
 been made. 
 
 That of Captain Cook was the first of which we have 
 any distinct account. In 1772 he sailed to the south in 
 the Resolution, accompanied by Lieutenant Furneaux in 
 the Adventure. In December he found himself as far 
 as the fifty-eighth parallel of south latitude, and in Ion- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 139 
 
 gitude 26 57' E. Here he met with narrow fields of 
 ice, about eight or ten inches thick, and running north 
 west and southeast. This ice was in large cakes, and 
 usually it was packed so closely that the vessels had 
 great difficulty in forcing a passage. At this period 
 Captain Cook supposed, from the vast number of birds 
 to be seen, and from other indications, that he was in 
 the near vicinity of land. He kept on to the southward, 
 the weather being exceedingly cold, until he reached the 
 sixty-fourth parallel, in longitude 38 14' E. Here he 
 had mild weather, with gentle breezes, for five days, the 
 thermometer being at thirty-six. In January, 1773, the 
 vessels crossed the Antarctic circle, but did not succeed 
 in penetrating much farther ; for, upon reaching latitude 
 67 15', they found all farther progress impeded by an 
 immense body of ice, extending all along the southern 
 horizon as far as the eye could reach. This ice was of 
 every variety and some large floes of it, miles in ex 
 tent, formed a compact mass, rising eighteen or twenty 
 feet above the water. It being late in the season, and 
 no hope entertained of rounding these obstructions, 
 Captain Cook now reluctantly turned to the northward. 
 
 In the November following he renewed his search in 
 the Antarctic. In latitude 59 40' he met with a strong 
 current setting to the southward. In December, when 
 the vessels were in latitude 67 31', longitude 142 
 54' W., the cold was excessive, with heavy gales and 
 fog. Here also birds were abundant ; the albatross, the 
 penguin, and the peterel especially. In latitude 70 
 23' some large islands of ice were encountered, and 
 shortly afterward, the clouds to the southward were ob 
 served to be of a snowy whiteness, indicating the vicin 
 ity of field ice. In latitude 71 10', longitude 106 54' 
 W., the navigators were stopped, as before, by an im 
 mense frozen expanse, which filled the whole area of the 
 southern horizon. The northern edge of this expanse 
 was ragged and broken, so firmly wedged together as to 
 be utterly impassable, and extending about a mile to the 
 southward. Behind it the frozen surface was compara 
 tively smooth for some distance, until terminated in the 
 
140 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 extreme back-ground by gigantic ranges of ice moun 
 tains, the one towering above the other. Captain Cook 
 concluded that this vast field reached the southern 
 pole or was joined to a continent. Mr. J. N. Reynolds, 
 whose great exertions and perseverance have at length 
 succeeded in getting set on foot a national expedition, 
 partly for the purpose of exploring these regions, thus 
 speaks of the attempt of the Resolution. " We are not 
 surprised that Captain Cook was unable to go beyond 
 71 10', but we are astonished that he did attain that 
 point on the meridian of 106 54' west longitude. Pal 
 mer's Land lies south of the Shetland, latitude sixty-four 
 degrees, and tends to the southward and westward far 
 ther than any navigator has yet penetrated. Cook was 
 standing for this land when his progress was arrested 
 by the ice ; which, we apprehend, must always be the 
 case in that point, and so early in the season as the sixth 
 of January and we should not be surprised if a portion 
 of the icy mountains described was attached to the main 
 body of Palmer's Land, or to some other portions of land 
 lying farther to the southward and westward." 
 
 In 1803, Captains Kreutzenstern and Lisiausky were 
 despatched by Alexander of Russia for the purpose of 
 circumnavigating the globe. In endeavouring to get 
 south, they made no farther than 59 58', in longitude 70 
 15' W. They here met with strong currents setting east- 
 wardly. Whales were abundant, but they saw no ice. 
 In regard to this voyage, Mr. Reynolds observes that, if 
 Kreutzenstern had arrived where he did earlier in the 
 season, he must have encountered ice it was March 
 when he reached the latitude specified. The winds pre 
 vailing, as they do, from the southward and westward, 
 had carried the floes, aided by currents, into that icy re 
 gion bounded on the north by Georgia, east by Sandwich 
 Land and the South Orkneys, and west by the South 
 Shetland Islands. 
 
 In 1822, Captain James Weddell, of the British navy, 
 with two very small vessels, penetrated farther to the 
 south than any previous navigator, and this too, without 
 encountering extraordinary difficulties. He states that 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 141 
 
 although he was frequently hemmed in by ice before 
 reaching the seventy-second parallel, yet, upon attaining 
 it, not a particle was to be discovered, and that, upon ar 
 riving at the latitude of 74 15', no fields, and only three 
 islands of ice were visible. It is somewhat remarkable 
 that, although vast flocks of birds were seen, and other 
 usual indications of land, and although, south of the 
 Shetlands, unknown coasts were observed from the 
 masthead tending southwardly, Weddell discourages the 
 idea of land existing in the polar regions of the south. 
 
 On the eleventh of January, 1823, Captain Benjamin 
 Morrell, of the American schooner Wasp, sailed from 
 Kerguelen's Land with a view of penetrating as far south 
 as possible. On the first of February he found himself 
 in latitude 64 52' S., longitude 118 27' E. The fol 
 lowing passage is extracted from his journal of that 
 date. " The wind soon freshened to an eleven-knot 
 breeze, and we embraced this opportunity of making to 
 the west ; being however convinced that the farther we 
 went south beyond latitude sixty-four degrees the less ice 
 was to be apprehended, we steered a little to the south 
 ward, until we crossed the Antarctic circle, and were in 
 latitude 69 15' E. In this latitude there was no field 
 ice, and very few ice islands in sight." 
 
 Under the date of March fourteenth I find also this 
 entry. ** The sea was now entirely free of field ice, 
 and there were not more than a dozen ice islands in 
 sight. At the same time the temperature of the air and 
 water was at least thirteen degrees higher (more mild) 
 than we had ever found it between the parallels of sixty 
 and sixty-two south. We were now in latitude 70 14' 
 S., and the temperature of the air was forty-seven, and 
 that of the water forty-four. In this situation I found 
 
 the variation to be 14 27' easterly, per azimuth 
 
 I have several times passed within the Antarctic circle 
 on different meridians, and have uniformly found the 
 temperature, both of the air and the water, to become 
 more and more mild the farther I advanced beyond the 
 sixty-fifth degree of south latitude, and that the variation 
 decreases in the same proportion. While north of this 
 
142 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 latitude, say between sixty and sixty-five south, we fre 
 quently had great difficulty in finding a passage for the 
 vessel between the immense and almost innumerable 
 ice islands, some of which were from one to two miles 
 in circumference, and more than five hundred feet above 
 the surface of the water." 
 
 } Being nearly destitute of fuel and water, and without 
 proper instruments, it being also late in the season, Cap 
 tain Morrell was now obliged to put back, without at 
 tempting any farther progress to the southward, although 
 an entirely open sea lay before him. He expresses the 
 opinion that, had not these overruling considerations 
 obliged him to retreat, he could have penetrated, if not 
 to the pole itself, at least to the eighty-fifth parallel. I 
 have given his ideas respecting these matters somewhat 
 at length, that the reader may have an opportunity of 
 seeing how far they were borne out by my own subse 
 quent experience. 
 
 In 1831, Captain Briscoe, in the employ of the Mes 
 sieurs Enderby, whale-ship owners of London, sailed in the 
 brig Lively for the South Seas, accompanied by the cut 
 ter Tula. On the twenty-eighth of February, being in 
 latitude 66 30' S., longitude 47 31' E., he descried 
 land, and " clearly discovered through the snow the black 
 peaks of a range of mountains running E. S. E." He 
 remained in this neighbourhood during the whole of the 
 following month, but was unable to approach the coast 
 nearer than within ten leagues, owing to the boisterous 
 state of the weather. Finding it impossible to make 
 farther discovery during this season, he returned north 
 ward to winter in Van Diemen's Land. 
 
 In the beginning of 1832 he again proceeded south 
 wardly, and on the fourth of February land was seen 
 to the southeast in latitude 67 15', longitude 69 29' W. 
 This was soon found to be an island near the headland 
 of the country he had first discovered. On the twenty- 
 first of the month he succeeded in landing on the latter, 
 and took possession of it in the name of William IV., 
 calling it Adelaide's Island, in honour of the English 
 *ueen. These particulars being made known to the 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 143 
 
 Royal Geographical Society of London, the conclusion 
 was drawn by that body " that there is a continuous 
 tract of land extending from 47 30' E. to 69 29' W. 
 longitude, running the parallel of from sixty-six to sixty- 
 seven degrees south latitude." In respect to this con 
 clusion Mr. Reynolds observes, " In the correctness of 
 it we by no means concur ; nor do the discoveries of 
 Briscoe warrant any such inference. It was within 
 these limits that Weddell proceeded south on a meridian 
 to the east of Georgia, Sandwich Land, and the South 
 Orkney and Shetland Islands." My own experience 
 will be found to testify most directly to the falsity of the 
 conclusion arrived at by the society. 
 
 These are the principal attempts which have been 
 made at penetrating to a high southern latitude, and it 
 will now be seen that there remained, previous to the 
 voyage of the Jane, nearly three hundred degrees of lon 
 gitude in which the Antarctic circle had not been crossed 
 at all. Of course a wide field lay before us for discov 
 ery, and it was with feelings of most intense interest 
 that I heard Captain Guy express his resolution of push 
 ing boldly to the southward. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WE kept our course southwardly for four days after 
 giving up the search for Glass's Islands, without meeting 
 with any ice at all. On the twenty-sixth, at noon, we 
 were in latitude 63 23' S., longitude 41 25' W. We 
 now saw several large ice islands, and a floe of field ice, 
 not, however, of any great extent. The winds generally 
 blew from the southeast, or the northeast, but were very 
 light. Whenever we had a westerly wind, which was 
 seldom, it was invariably attended with a rain squall. 
 Every day we had more or less snow. The thermome 
 ter, on the twenty-seventh, stood at thirty-five. 
 
144 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 January 1, 1828. This day we found ourselves com 
 pletely hemmed in by the ice, and our prospects looked 
 cheerless indeed. A strong gale blew, during the whole 
 forenoon, from the northeast, and drove large cakes of 
 the drift against the rudder and counter with such vio 
 lence that we all trembled for the consequences. To 
 wards evening, the gale still blowing with fury, a large 
 field in front separated, and we were enabled, by carry 
 ing a press of sail, to force a passage through the smal 
 ler flakes into some open water beyond. As we ap 
 proached this space we took in sail by degrees, and hav 
 ing at length got clear, lay to under a single reefed fore 
 sail. 
 
 January 2. We had now tolerably pleasant weather. 
 At noon we found ourselves in latitude 69 10' S., lon 
 gitude 42 20' W., having crossed the Antarctic circle. 
 Very little ice was to be seen to the southward, although 
 large fields of it lay behind us. This day we rigged 
 some sounding gear, using a large iron pot capable of 
 holding twenty gallons, and a line of two hundred fath 
 oms. We found the current setting to the north, about 
 a quarter of a mile per hour. The temperature of the 
 air was now about thirty-three. Here we found the va 
 riation to be 14 28' easterly, per azimuth. 
 
 January 5. We had still held on to the southward 
 without any very great impediments. On this morning, 
 however, being in latitude 73 15' E., longitude 42 10' 
 W., we were again brought to a stand by an immense 
 expanse of firm ice. We saw, nevertheless, much open 
 water to the southward, and felt no doubt of being able 
 to reach it eventually. Standing to the eastward along 
 the edge of the floe, we at length came to a passage of 
 about a mile in width, through which we warped our 
 way by sundown. The sea in which we now were was 
 thickly covered with ice islands, but had no field ice, 
 and we pushed on boldly as before. The cold did not 
 seem to increase, although we had snow very frequently, 
 and now and then hail squalls of great violence. Im 
 mense flocks of the albatross flew over the schooner this 
 day, going from southeast to northwest. 
 
A. GORDON 1>YM. 145 
 
 January 7. The sea still remained pretty well open, 
 so that we had no difficulty in holding on our course. 
 To the westward we saw some icebergs of incredible 
 size, and in the afternoon passed very near one whose 
 summit could not have beeji less than four hundred fath 
 oms from the surface -of the ocean. Its girth was prob 
 ably, at the base, three quarters of a league, and several 
 v$reams of water were running from crevices in its sides. 
 We remained in sight of this island two days, and then 
 only lost it in a fog. 
 
 January 10. Early this morning we had the misfor 
 tune to lose a man overboard. He was an American, 
 named Peter Vredenburgh, a native of New- York, and 
 was one of the most valuable hands on board the 
 schooner. In going over the bows his foot slipped, and 
 he fell between two cakes of ice, never rising again. 
 At noon of this day we were in latitude 78 30', longi 
 tude 40 15' W. The cold was now excessive, and we 
 had hail squalls continually from the northward and east 
 ward. In this direction also we saw several more im 
 mense icebergs, and the whole horizon to the eastward 
 appeared to be blocked up with field ice, rising in tiers, 
 one mass above the other. Some driftwood floated by 
 during the evening, and a great quantity of birds flew 
 over, among which were Nellies, peterels, albatrosses, 
 and a large bird of a brilliant blue plumage. The vari 
 ation here, per azimuth, was less than it had been pre 
 viously to our passing the Antarctic circle. 
 
 January 12. Our passage to the south again looked 
 doubtful, as nothing was to be seen in the direction of 
 the pole but one apparently limitless floe, backed by ab 
 solute mountains of ragged ice, one precipice of which 
 arose frowningly above the other. We stood to the 
 westward until the fourteenth, in the hope of finding aa 
 entrance. 
 
 January 14. This morning we reached the western 
 extremity of the field which had impeded us, and, weath 
 ering it, came to an open sea, without a particle of ice. 
 Upon sounding with two hundred fathoms, we here found 
 a current setting southwardly at the rate of half a mile 
 N 
 
146 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 per hour. The temperature of the air was forty-seven, 
 that of the water thirty-four. We now sailed to the 
 southward, without meeting any interruption of moment 
 until the sixteenth, when, at noon, we were in lat 
 itude 81 21', longitude 42 W. We here again 
 sounded, and found a current setting still southwardly, 
 and at the rate of three quarters of a mile per hour. 
 The variation per azimuth had diminished, and the tem 
 perature of the air was mild and pleasant, the thermom 
 eter being as high as fifty-one. At this period not a 
 particle of ice was to be discovered. All hands on 
 board now felt certain of attaining the pole. 
 
 January 17. This day was full of incident. Innu 
 merable flights of birds flew over us from the southward, 
 and several were shot from the deck ; one of them, a 
 species of pelican, proved to be excellent eating. About 
 midday a small floe of ice was seen from the masthead 
 off the larboard bow, and upon it there appeared to be 
 some large animal. As the weather was good and 
 nearly calm, Captain Guy ordered out two of the boats 
 to see what it was. Dirk Peters and myself accompa 
 nied the mate in the larger boat. Upon coming up with 
 the floe, we perceived that it was in the possession of a 
 gigantic creature of the race of the Arctic bear, but far 
 exceeding in size the largest of these animals. Being 
 well armed, we made no scruple of attacking it at once. 
 Several shots were fired in quick succession, the most 
 of which took effect, apparently, in the head and body. 
 Nothing discouraged, however, the monster threw him 
 self from the ice, and swam, with open jaws, to the boat 
 in which were Peters and myself. Owing to the confu 
 sion which ensued among us at this unexpected turn of 
 the adventure, no person was ready immediately with a 
 second shot, and the bear had actually succeeded in get 
 ting half his vast bulk across our gunwale, and seizing 
 one of the men by the small of his back, before any effi 
 cient means were taken to repel him. In this extremity 
 nothing but the promptness and agility of Peters saved 
 us from destruction. Leaping upon the back of the huge 
 beast, he plunged the blade of a knife behind the neck, 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 147 
 
 reaching the spinal marrow at a blow. The brute tum 
 bled into the sea lifeless, and without a struggle, rolling 
 over Peters as he fell. The latter soon recovered him 
 self, and a rope being thrown him, he secured the car 
 cass before entering the boat. We then returned in tri 
 umph to the schooner, towing our trophy behind us. 
 This bear, upon admeasurement, proved to be full fifteen 
 feet in his greatest length. His wool was perfectly 
 white, and very coarse, curling tightly. The eyes were 
 of a blood red, and larger than those of the Arctic bear 
 the snout also more rounded, rather resembling the 
 snout of the bulldog. The meat was tender, but exces 
 sively rank and fishy, although the men devoured it with 
 avidity, and declared it excellent eating. 
 
 Scarcely had we got our prize alongside, when the 
 man at the masthead gave the joyful shout of " land on 
 the starboard bow .'" All hands were now upon the alert, 
 and, a breeze springing up very opportunely from the 
 northward and eastward, we were soon close in with the 
 coast. It proved to be a low rocky islet, of about a 
 league in circumference, and altogether destitute of veg 
 etation, if we except a species of prickly pear. In ap 
 proaching it from the northward, a singular ledge of 
 rock is seen projecting into the sea, and bearing a 
 strong resemblance to corded bales of cotton. Around 
 this ledge to the westward is a small bay, at the bottom 
 of which our boats effected a convenient landing. 
 
 It did not take us long to explore every portion of the 
 island, but, with one exception, we found nothing worthy 
 of observation. In the southern extremity, we picked 
 up near the shore, half buried in a pile of loose stones, 
 a piece of wood, which seemed to have formed the prow 
 of a canoe. There had been evidently some attempt at 
 carving upon it, and Captain Guy fancied that he made 
 out the figure of a tortoise, but the resemblance did not 
 strike me very forcibly. Besides this prow, if such it 
 were, we found no other token that any living creature 
 had ever been here before. Around the coast we dis 
 covered occasional small floes of ice but these were 
 very few. The exact situation of this islet (to which 
 
148 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 Captain Guy gave the name of Bennet's Islet, in honour 
 of his partner in the ownership of the schooner) is 82 
 50' S. latitude, 42 20' W. longitude. 
 
 We had now advanced to the southward more thai* 
 eight degrees farther than any previous navigators, 
 and the sea still lay perfectly open before us. We 
 found, too, that the variation uniformly decreased as 
 we proceeded, and, what was still more surprising, that 
 the temperature of the air, and latterly of the water, be 
 came milder. The weather might even be called pleas 
 ant, and we had a steady but very gentle breeze always 
 from some northern point of the compass. The sky 
 was usually clear, with now and then a slight appear 
 ance of thin vapour in the southern horizon this, how 
 ever, was invariably of brief duration. Two difficulties 
 alone presented themselves to our view ; we were get 
 ting short of fuel, and symptoms of scurvy had occurred 
 among several of the crew. These considerations began 
 to impress upon Captain Guy the necessity of returning, 
 and he spoke of it frequently. For my own part, confi 
 dent as I was of soon- arriving at land of some descrip 
 tion upon the course we were pursuing, and having 
 every reason to believe, from present appearances, that 
 we should not find it the steril soil met with in the 
 higher Arctic latitudes, I warmly pressed upon him the 
 expediency of persevering, at least for a few days longer, 
 in the direction we were now holding. So tempting an 
 opportunity of solving the great problem in regard to an 
 Antarctic continent had never yet been afforded to man, 
 and I confess that I felt myself bursting with indignation 
 at the timid and ill-timed suggestions of our commander. 
 I believe, indeed, that what I could not refrain from say 
 ing to him on this head had the effect of inducing him 
 to push on. While, therefore, I cannot but lament the 
 most unfortunate and bloody events which immediately 
 arose from my advice, I must still be allowed to feel 
 some degree of gratification at having been instrumental, 
 however remotely, in opening to the eye of science one 
 of the most intensely exciting secrets which has ever 
 engrossed its attention. 
 

 A. GORDON PYM. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 JANUARY 18. This morning* we continued to the 
 southward, with the same pleasant weather as before. 
 The sea was entirely smooth, the air tolerably warm 
 and from the northeast, the temperature of the water fif 
 ty-three. We now again got our sounding-gear in order, 
 and, with a hundred and fifty fathoms of line, found the 
 current setting towards the pole at the rate of a mile an 
 hour. This constant tendency to the southward, both 
 in the wind and current, caused some degree of specu 
 lation, and even of alarm, in different quarters of the 
 schooner, and I saw distinctly that no little impression 
 had been made upon the mind of Captain Guy. He was 
 exceedingly sensitive to ridicule, however, and I finally 
 succeeded in laughing him out of his apprehensions. 
 The variation was now very trivial. In the course of 
 the day we saw several large whales of the right spe 
 cies, and innumerable flights of the albatross passed over 
 the vessel. We also picked up a bush, full of red ber 
 ries, like those of the hawthorn, and the carcass of a 
 singular-looking land-animal. It was three feet in length, 
 and but six inches in height, with four very short legs, 
 the feet armed with long claws of a brilliant scarlet, and 
 resembling coral in substance. The body was covered 
 with a straight silky hair, perfectly white. The tail was 
 peaked like that of a rat, and about a foot and a half 
 
 * The terms morning and evening, which I have made use of to 
 avoid confusion in my narrative, as far as possible, must not, of 
 course, be taken in their ordinary sense. For a long time past we 
 had had no night at all, the daylight being continual. The dates 
 throughout are according to nautical time, and the bearings must 
 be understood as per compass. I would also remark in this place, 
 that 1 cannot, in the first portion of what is here written, pretend to 
 strict accuracy in respect to dates, or latitudes and longitudes, hav 
 ing kept no regular journal until after the period of which this first 
 portion treats. In many instances I have relied altogether upon 
 memory. 
 
 N2 
 
150 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 long. The head resembled a cat's, with the exception 
 of the ears these were flapped like the ears of a dog. 
 The teeth were of the same brilliant scarlet as the claws. 
 
 January 19. To-day, being in latitude 83 20', longi 
 tude 43 5' W. (the sea being of an extraordinarily 
 dark colour), we again saw land from the masthead, 
 and, upon a closer scrutiny, found it to be one of a 
 group of very large islands. The shore was precipitous, 
 and the interior seemed to be well wooded, a circum 
 stance which occasioned us great joy. In about four 
 hours from our first discovering the land we came to 
 anchor in ten fathoms, sandy bottom, a league from the 
 coast, as a high surf, with strong ripples here and there, 
 rendered a nearer approach of doubtful expediency. 
 The two largest boats were now ordered out, and a 
 party, well armed (among whom were Peters and myself), 
 proceeded to look for an opening in the reef which ap 
 peared to encircle the island. After searching about for 
 some time, we discovered an inlet, which we were enter 
 ing, when we saw four large canoes put off from the 
 shore, filled with men who seemed to be well armed. We 
 waited for them to come up, and, as they moved with 
 great rapidity, they were soon within hail. Captain Guy 
 now held up a white handkerchief on the blade of an 
 oar, when the strangers made a full stop, and commenced 
 a loud jabbering all at once, intermingled with occasional 
 shouts, in which we could distinguish the words Anamoo- 
 moo ! and Lama-Lama ! They continued this for at 
 least half an hour, during which we had a good opportu 
 nity of observing their appearance. 
 
 In the four canoes, which might have been fifty feet 
 long and five broad, there were a hundred and ten sav 
 ages in all. They were about the ordinary stature of 
 Europeans, but of a more muscular and brawny frame. 
 Their complexion a jet black, with thick and long wool 
 ly hair. They were clothed in skins of an unknown 
 black animal, shaggy and silky, and made to fit the 
 body with some degree of skill, the hair being inside, 
 except where turned out about the neck, wrists, and an 
 kles. Their arms consisted principally of clubs, of a 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 151 
 
 dark, and apparently very heavy wood. Some spears, 
 however, were observed among them, headed with flint, 
 and a few slings. The bottoms of the canoes were full 
 of black stones about the size of a large egg. 
 
 When they had concluded their harangue (for it waa 
 clear they intended their jabbering for such), one of them 
 who seemed to be the chief stood up in the prow of his 
 canoe, and made signs for us to bring our boats along 
 side of him. This hint we pretended not to understand, 
 thinking it the wiser plan to maintain, if possible, the in 
 terval between us, as their number more than quadrupled 
 our own. Finding this to be the case, the chief ordered 
 the three other canoes to hold back, while he advanced 
 towards us with his own. As soon as he came up with 
 us he leaped on board the largest of our boats, and 
 seated himself by the side of Captain Guy, pointing at 
 the same time to the schooner, and repeating the words 
 Anamoo-moo ! and Lama-Lama ! We now put back to 
 the vessel, the four canoes following at a little distance. 
 
 Upon getting alongside the chief evinced symptoms of 
 extreme surprise and delight, clapping his hands, slap 
 ping his thighs and breast, and laughing obstreperously. 
 His followers behind joined in his merriment, and for 
 some minutes the din was so excessive as to be abso 
 lutely deafening. Quiet being at length restored, Cap 
 tain Guy ordered the boats to be hoisted up, as a neces 
 sary precaution, and gave the chief (whose name we 
 soon found to be Too-wit) to understand that we could 
 admit no more than twenty of his men on deck at one 
 time. With this arrangement he appeared perfectly sat 
 isfied, and gave some directions to the canoes, when one 
 of them approached, the rest remaining about fifty yards 
 off. Twenty of the savages now got on board, and pro 
 ceeded to ramble over every part of the deck, and scram 
 ble about among the rigging, making themselves much 
 at home, and examining every article with great inquisi- 
 tiveness. 
 
 It was quite evident that they had never before seen 
 any of the white race from whose complexion, indeed, 
 they appeared to recoil. They believed the Jane to 
 
152 NARRATITE OP 
 
 be a living creature, and seemed to be afraid of hurting 
 it with the points of their spears, carefully turning them 
 up. Our crew were much amused with the conduct of 
 Too-wit in one instance. The cook was splitting some 
 wood near the galley, and, by accident, struck his axe 
 into the deck, making a gash of considerable depth. 
 The chief immediately ran up, and pushing the cook on 
 one side rather roughly, commenced a half whine, half 
 howl, strongly indicative of sympathy in what he con 
 sidered the sufferings of the schooner, patting and 
 smoothing the gash with his hand, and washing it from 
 a bucket of seawater which stood by. This was a de 
 gree of ignorance for which we were not prepared, and 
 for my part I could not help thinking some of it affected. 
 When the visiters had satisfied, as well as they could, 
 their curiosity in regard to our upper works, they were 
 admitted below, when their amazement exceeded all 
 bounds. Their astonishment now appeared to be far 
 too deep for words, for they roamed about in silence, 
 broken only by low ejaculations. The arms afforded 
 them much food for speculation, and they were suffered 
 to handle and examine them at leisure. I do not believe 
 that they had the least suspicion of their actual use, but 
 rather took them for idols, seeing the care we had of them, 
 and the attention with which we watched their movements 
 while handling them. At the great guns their wonder 
 was redoubled. They approached them with every 
 mark of the profoundest reverence and awe, but forbore 
 to examine them minutely. There were two large mir 
 rors in the cabin, and here was the acme of their amaze 
 ment. Too-wit was the first to approach them, and he 
 had got in the middle of the cabin, with his face to one 
 and his back to the other, before he fairly perceived 
 them. Upon raising his eyes and seeing his reflected 
 self in the glass, I thought the savage would go mad ; 
 but, upon turning short round to make a retreat, and be 
 holding himself a second time in the opposite direction, 
 I was afraid he would expire upon the spot. No persua 
 sions could prevail upon him to take another look ; but, 
 throwing himself upon the floor, with his face buried ia 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 153 
 
 his hands, he remained thus until we were obliged to 
 drag him upon deck. 
 
 The whole of the savages were admitted on board in 
 this manner, twenty at a time, Too-wit being suffered to 
 remain during the entire period. We saw no disposition 
 to thievery among them, nor did we miss a single article 
 after their departure. Throughout the whole of their visit 
 they evinced the most friendly manner. There were, 
 however,^ some points in their demeanour which we found 
 it impossible to understand : for example, we could not get 
 them to approach several very harmless objects such 
 as the schooner's sails, an egg, an open book, or a pan of 
 flour. We endeavoured to ascertain if they had among 
 them any articles which might be turned to account 
 in the way of traffic, but found great difficulty in being 
 comprehended. We made out, nevertheless, what greatly 
 astonished us, that the islands abounded in the large tor 
 toise of the Gallipagos, one of which we saw in the 
 canoe of Too-wit. We saw also some biche de mer in 
 the hands of one of the savages, who was greedily de 
 vouring it in its natural state. These anomalies, for 
 they were such when considered in regard to the lati 
 tude, induced Captain Guy to wish for a thorough inves 
 tigation of the country, in the hope of making a profita 
 ble speculation in his discovery. For my own part, 
 anxious as I was to know something more of these 
 islands, I was still more earnestly bent on prosecuting 
 the voyage to the southward without delay. We had 
 now fine weather, but there was no telling how long it 
 would last ; and being already in the eighty-fourth paral 
 lel, with an open sea before us, a current setting strongly 
 to the southward, and the wind fair, I could not listen 
 with any patience to a proposition of stopping longer 
 than was absolutely necessary for the health of the crew 
 and the taking on board a proper supply of fuel and 
 fresh provisions. I represented to the captain that we 
 might easily make this group on our return, and winter 
 here in the event of being blocked up by the ice. He 
 at length came into my views (for in some way, hardly 
 known to myself, I had acquired much influence over 
 
154 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 him), and it was finally resolved that, even in the event 
 of our finding biche de mer, we should only stay here a 
 week to recruit, and then push on to the southward 
 while we might. Accordingly we made every necessary 
 preparation, and, under the guidance of Too-wit, got the 
 Jane through the reef in safety, coming to anchor about 
 a mile from the shore, in an excellent bay, completely 
 landlocked, on the southeastern coast of the main island, 
 and in ten fathoms of water, black sandy bottom. At 
 the head of this bay there were three fine springs (we 
 were told) of good water, and we saw abundance of 
 wood in the vicinity. The four canoes followed us in, 
 keeping, however, at a respectful distance. Too-wit 
 himself remained on board, and, upon our dropping an 
 chor, invited us to accompany him on shore, and visit 
 his village in the interior. To this Captain Guy con 
 sented ; and ten savages being left on board as hostages, 
 a party of us, twelve in all, got in readiness to attend 
 the chief. We took care to be well armed, yet without 
 evincing any distrust. The schooner had her guns run 
 out, her boarding-nettings up, and every other proper 
 precaution was taken to guard against surprise. Direc 
 tions were left with the chief mate to admit no person 
 on board during our absence, and, in the event of our 
 not appearing in twelve hours, to send the cutter, with a 
 swivel, round the island in search of us. 
 
 At every step we took inland the conviction forced it 
 self upon us that we were in a country differing essen 
 tially from any hitherto visited by civilized men. We 
 saw nothing with which we had been formerly conver 
 sant. The trees resembled no growth of either the tor 
 rid, the temperate, or the northern frigid zones, and were 
 altogether unlike those of the lower southern latitudes 
 we had already traversed. The very rocks were novel 
 in their mass, their colour, and their stratification ; and 
 the streams themselves, uttterly incredible as it may ap 
 pear, had so little in common with those of other cli 
 mates, that we were scrupulous of tasting them, and, in 
 deed, had difficulty in bringing ourselves to believe that 
 their qualities were purely those of nature. At a small 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 155 
 
 brook which crossed our path (the first we had reached) 
 Too-wit and his attendants halted to drink. On account 
 of the singular character of the water, we refused to 
 taste it, supposing it to be polluted ; and it was not until 
 some time afterward we came to understand that such 
 was the appearance of the streams throughout the whole 
 group. I am at a loss to give a distinct idea of the na 
 ture of this liquid, and cannot do so without many 
 words. Although it flowed with rapidity in all declivi 
 ties where common water would do so, yet never, ex 
 cept when falling in a cascade, had it the customary ap 
 pearance of limpidity. It was, nevertheless, in point of 
 fact, as perfectly limpid as any limestone water in exist 
 ence, the difference being only in appearance. At first 
 sight, and especially in cases where little declivity was 
 found, it bore resemblance, as regards consistency, to a 
 thick infusion of gum Arabic in common water. But 
 this was only the least remarkable of its extraordinary 
 qualities. I was not colourless, nor was it of any one 
 uniform colour presenting to the eye, as it flowed, 
 every possible shade of purple, like the hues of a change 
 able silk. This variation in shade was produced in a 
 manner which excited as profound astonishment in the 
 minds of our party as the mirror had done in the case 
 of Too-wit. Upon collecting a basinful, and allowing 
 it to settle thoroughly, we perceived that the whole mass 
 of liquid was made up of a number of distinct veins, 
 each of a distinct hue ; that these veins did not com 
 mingle ; and that their cohesion was perfect in regard to 
 their own particles among themselves, and imperfect in 
 regard to neighbouring veins. Upon passing the blade 
 of a knife athwart the veins, the water closed over it im 
 mediately, as with us, and also, in withdrawing it, all 
 traces of the passage of the knife were instantly obliter 
 ated. If, however, the blade was passed down accu 
 rately between two veins, a perfect separation was ef 
 fected, which the power of cohesion did not immediately 
 rectify. The phenomena of this water formed the first 
 definite link in that vast chain of apparent miracles with 
 which I was destined to be at length encircled. 
 
156 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WE were nearly three hours in reaching the village, 
 it being more than nine miles in the interior, and the 
 path lying through a rugged country. As we passed 
 along, the party of Too-wit (the whole hundred and ten 
 savages of the canoes) was momentarily strengthened 
 by smaller detachments, of from two to six or seven, 
 which joined us, as if by accident, at different turns in 
 the road. There appeared so much of system in this 
 that I could not help feeling distrust, and I spoke to 
 Captain Guy of my apprehensions. It was now too late, 
 however, to recede, and we concluded that our best se 
 curity lay in evincing a perfect confidence in the good 
 faith of Too-wit. We accordingly went on, keeping a 
 wary eye upon the mano3uvres of the savages, and not 
 permitting them to divide our numbers by pushing in be 
 tween. In this way, passing through a. f precipitous ra 
 vine, we at length reached what we were told was the 
 only collection of habitations upon the island. As we 
 came in sight of them, the chief set up a shout, and fre 
 quently repeated the word Klock-Klock ; which we sup 
 posed to be the name of the village, or perhaps the gen 
 eric name for villages. 
 
 The dwellings were of the most miserable description 
 imaginable, and, unlike those of even the lowest of the 
 savage races with which mankind are acquainted, were 
 of no uniform plan. Some of them (and these we found 
 belonged to the Wampoos or Yampoos, the great men of 
 the land) consisted of a tree cut down at about four feet 
 from the root, with a large black skin thrown over it, and 
 hanging in loose folds upon the ground. Under this the 
 savage nestled. Others were formed by means of rough 
 limbs of trees, with the withered foliage upon them, 
 made to recline, at an angle of forty-five degrees, against 
 a bank of clay, heaped up, without regular form, to the 
 
A. GORDON PYM, 157 
 
 height of five or six feet, Others, again, were mere holes 
 dug in the earth perpendicularly, and covered over with 
 similar branches, these being removed when the tenant 
 was about to enter, and pulled on again when he had 
 entered. A few were built among the forked limbs of 
 trees as they stood, the upper limbs being partially cut 
 through, so as to bend over upon the lower, thus forming 
 thicker shelter from the weather. The greater number, 
 however, consisted of small shallow caverns, apparently 
 scratched in the face of a precipitous ledge of dark stone, 
 resembling fuller's earth, with which three sides of the 
 village was bounded, At the door of each of these 
 primitive caverns was a small rock, which the tenant 
 carefully placed before the entrance upon leaving his 
 residence, for what purpose I could not ascertain, as the 
 stone itself was never of sufficient size to close up more 
 than a third of the opening. 
 
 This village, if it were worthy of the name, lay in a 
 valley of some depth, and could only be approached 
 from the southward, the precipitous ledge of which I 
 have already spoken cutting off all access in other di 
 rections. Through the middle of the valley ran a brawl 
 ing stream of the same magical-looking water which has 
 been described. We saw several strange animals about 
 the dwellings, all appearing to be thoroughly domestica 
 ted. The largest of these creatures resembled our com 
 mon hog in the structure of the body and snout ; the tail, 
 however, was bushy, and the legs slender as those of the 
 antelope. Its motion was exceedingly awkward and in 
 decisive, and we never saw it attempt to run. We noticed 
 also several animals very similar in appearance, but of a 
 greater length of body, and covered with a black wool. 
 There were a great variety of tame fowls running about, 
 and these seemed to constitute the chief food of the na 
 tives. To our astonishment we saw black albatross 
 among these birds in a state of entire domestication, going 
 to sea periodically for food, but always returning to the 
 village as a home, and using the southern shore in the vi 
 cinity as a place of incubation. There they were joined 
 by their friends the pelicans as usual, but these latter 
 O 
 
158 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 never followed them to the dwellings of the savages, 
 Among the other kinds of tame fowls were ducks, dif 
 fering very little from the canvass-back of our own 
 country, black gannets, and a large bird not unlike the 
 buzzard in appearance, but not carnivorous. Of fish 
 there seemed to be a great abundance. We saw, during 
 our visit, a quantity of dried salmon, rock cod, blue dol 
 phins, mackerel, blackfish, skate, conger eels, elephant- 
 fish, mullets, soles, parrotfish, leather-jackets, gurnards, 
 hake, flounders, paracutas, and innumerable other va 
 rieties. We noticed, too, that most of them were simi 
 lar to the fish about the group of the Lord Auckland 
 Islands, in a latitude as low as fifty-one degrees south. 
 The Gallipago tortoise was also very plentiful. We 
 saw but few wild animals, and none of a large size, or 
 of a species with which we were familiar. One or two 
 serpents of a formidable aspect crossed our path, but 
 the natives paid them little attention, and we concluded 
 that they were not venomous. 
 
 As we approached the village with Too-wit and his 
 party, a vast crowd of the people rushed out to meet us, 
 with loud shouts, among which we could only distinguish 
 the everlasting Anamoo-moo ! and Lama-Lama ! We 
 were much surprised at perceiving that, with one or 
 two exceptions, these new comers were entirely naked, 
 the skins being used only by the men of the canoes. 
 All the weapons of the country seemed also to be in the 
 possession of the latter, for there was no appearance of 
 any among the villagers. There were a great many 
 women and children, the former not altogether wanting 
 in what might be termed personal beauty. They were 
 straight, tall, and well formed, with a grace and freedom 
 of carriage not to be found in civilized society. Their 
 lips, however, like those of the men, werec thick and 
 clumsy, so that, even when laughing, the teeth were 
 never disclosed. Their hair was of a finer texture than 
 that of the males. Among these naked villagers there 
 might have been ten or twelve who were clothed, like 
 the party of Too-wit, in dresses of black skin, and arm 
 ed with lances and heavy clubs. These appeared to 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 159 
 
 have great influence among the rest, and were always 
 addressed by the title Wampoo. These, too, were the 
 tenants of the black skin palaces. That of Too-wit was 
 situated in the centre of the village, and was much larger 
 and somewhat better constructed than others of its kind. 
 The tree which formed its support was cut off at a dis 
 tance of twelve feet or thereabout from the root, and 
 there were several branches left just below the cut, these 
 serving to extend the covering, and in this way prevent 
 its flapping about the trunk. The covering, too, which 
 consisted of four very large skins fastened together 
 with wooden skewers, was secured at the bottom with 
 pegs driven through it and into the ground. The floor 
 was strewed with a quantity of dry leaves by way of 
 carpet. 
 
 To this hut we were conducted with great solemnity, 
 and as many of the natives crowded in after us as possi 
 ble. Too-wit seated himself on the leaves, and made 
 signs that we should follow his example. This we did, 
 and presently found ourselves in a situation peculiarly 
 uncomfortable, if not indeed critical. We were on the 
 ground, twelve in number, with the savages, as many as 
 forty, sitting on their hams so closely around us that, if 
 any disturbance had arisen, we should have found it im 
 possible to make use of our arms, or indeed to have risen 
 on our feet. The pressure was not only inside the tent, 
 but outside, where probably was every individual on the 
 whole island, the crowd being prevented from trampling 
 us to death only by the incessant exertions and vocifera 
 tions of Too-wit. Our chief security lay, however, in the 
 presence of Too-wit himself among us, and we resolved 
 to stick by him closely, as the best chance of extricating 
 ourselves from the dilemma, sacrificing him immediately 
 upon the first appearance of hostile design. 
 
 After some trouble a certain degree of quiet was re 
 stored, when the chief addressed us in a speech of great 
 length, and very nearly resembling the one delivered in 
 the canoes, with the exception that the Anamoo-moos ! 
 were now somewhat more strenuously insisted upon than 
 the Lama-Lamas ! We listened in profound silence until 
 
160 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the conclusion of his harangue, when Captain Guy replied 
 by assuring the chief of his eternal friendship and good 
 will, concluding what he had to say by a present of sev 
 eral strings of blue beads and a knife. At the former 
 the monarch, much to our surprise, turned up his nose 
 with some expression of contempt ; but the knife gave him 
 the most unlimited satisfaction, and he immediately or 
 dered dinner. This was handed into the tent over the 
 heads of the attendants, and consisted of the palpitating 
 entrails of a species of unknown animal, probably one of 
 the slim-legged hogs which we had observed in our ap 
 proach to the village. Seeing us at a loss how to pro 
 ceed, he began, by way of setting us an example, to de 
 vour yard after yard of the enticing food, until we could 
 positively stand it no longer, and evinced such manifest 
 symptoms of rebellion of stomach as inspired his ma 
 jesty with a degree of astonishment only inferior to that 
 brought about by the looking-glasses. We declined, 
 however, partaking of the delicacies before us, and en 
 deavoured to make him understand that we had no appe 
 tite whatever, having just finished a hearty dejeuner. 
 
 When the monarch had made an end of his meal, we 
 commenced a series of cross-questioning in every inge 
 nious manner we could devise, with a view of discovering 
 what were the chief productions of the country, and 
 whether any of them might be turned to profit. At length 
 he seemed to have some idea of our meaning, and offered 
 to accompany us to a part of the coast where he assured 
 us the biche de mer (pointing to a specimen of that ani 
 mal) was to be found in great abundance. We were 
 glad at this early opportunity of escaping from the op 
 pression of the crowd, and signified our eagerness to pro 
 ceed. We now left the tent, and, accompanied by the 
 whole population of the village, followed the chief to the 
 southeastern extremity of the island, not far from the bay 
 where our vessel lay at anchor. We waited here for 
 about an hour, until the four canoes were brought round 
 by some of the savages to our station. The whole of 
 our party then getting into one of them, we were paddled 
 along the edge of the reef before mentioned, and of an- 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 161 
 
 other still farther out, where we saw a far greater quantity 
 of biche de mer than the oldest seaman among us had 
 ever seen in those groups of the lower latitudes most 
 celebrated for this article of commerce. We stayed near 
 these reefs only long enough to satisfy ourselves that we 
 could easily load a dozen vessels with the animal if ne 
 cessary, when we were taken alongside the schooner, 
 and parted with Too-wit after obtaining from him a prom 
 ise that he would bring us, in the course of twenty-four 
 hours, as many of the canvass-back ducks and Gallipago 
 tortoises as his canoes would hold. In the whole of this 
 adventure we saw nothing in the demeanour of the na 
 tives calculated to create suspicion, with the single ex 
 ception of the systematic manner in which their party 
 was strengthened during our route from the schooner to 
 the village. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE chief was as good as his word, and we were soon 
 plentifully supplied with fresh provision. We found the 
 tortoises as fine as we had ever seen, and the ducks sur 
 passed our best species of wild fowl, being exceedingly 
 tender, juicy, and well-flavoured. Besides these, the sav 
 ages brought us, upon our making them comprehend our 
 wishes, a vast quantity of brown celery and scurvy grass, 
 with a canoe-load of fresh fish and some dried. The 
 celery was a treat indeed, and the scurvy grass proved of 
 incalculable benefit in restoring those of. our men who 
 had shown symptoms of disease. In a very short time 
 we had not a single person on the sick-list. We had 
 also plenty of other kinds of fresh provision, among which 
 may be mentioned a species of shellfish resembling the 
 muscle in shape, but with the taste of an oyster. Shrimps, 
 too, and prawns were abundant, and albatross and other 
 birds' eggs with dark shells. We took in, too, a plentiful 
 02 
 
162 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 stock of the flesh of the hog which I have mentioned be 
 fore. Most of the men found it a palatable food, but I 
 thought it fishy and otherwise disagreeable. In return 
 for these good things we presented the natives with blue 
 beads, brass trinkets, nails, knives, and pieces of red 
 cloth, they being fully delighted in the exchange. We 
 established a regular market on shore, just under the guns 
 of the schooner, where our barterings were carried on 
 with every appearance of good faith, and a degree of or 
 der which their conduct at the village of Klock-klock had 
 not led us to expect from the savages. 
 
 Matters went on thus very amicably for several days, 
 during which parties of the natives were frequently on 
 board the schooner, and parties of our men frequently on 
 shore, making long excursions into the interior, and re 
 ceiving no molestation whatever. Finding the ease with 
 which the vessel might be loaded with biche de mer, owing 
 to the friendly disposition of .the islanders, and the readi 
 ness with which they would render us assistance in col 
 lecting it, Captain Guy resolved to enter into negotiation 
 with Too-wit for the erection of suitable houses in which 
 to cure the article, and for the services of himself and 
 tribe in gathering as much as possible, while he himself 
 took advantage of the fine weather to prosecute his voy 
 age to the southward. Upon mentioning this project to 
 the chief he seemed very willing to enter into an agree 
 ment. A bargain was accordingly struck, perfectly sat 
 isfactory to both parties, by which it was arranged that, 
 after making the necessary preparations, such as laying 
 off the proper grounds, erecting a portion of the buildings, 
 and doing some other work in which the whole of our 
 crew would be required, the schooner should proceed on 
 her route, leaving three of her men on the island to su 
 perintend the fulfilment of the project, and instruct the 
 natives in drying the biche de mer. In regard to terms, 
 these were made to depend upon the exertions of the sav 
 ages in our absence. They were to receive a stipulated 
 quantity of blue beads, knives, red cloth, and so forth, for 
 every certain number of piculs of the biche de mer which 
 should be ready on our return. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 163 
 
 A description of the nature of this important article of 
 commerce, and the method of preparing it, may prove of 
 some interest to my readers, and I can find no more suit 
 able place than this for introducing an account of it. 
 The following comprehensive notice of the substance is 
 taken from a modern history of a voyage to the South 
 Seas. 
 
 "It is that mollusca from the Indian Seas which is 
 known in commerce by the French name bouche de mer 
 (a nice morsel from the sea). If I am not much mis 
 taken, the celebrated Cuvier calls it gasteropeda pulmon- 
 ifera. It is abundantly gathered in the coasts of the Pa 
 cific Islands, and gathered especially for the Chinese 
 market, where it commands a great price, perhaps as 
 much as their much-talked of edible bird's nests, which 
 are probably made up of the gelatinous matter picked up 
 by a species of swallow from the body of these molluscae. 
 They have no shell, no legs, nor any prominent part, ex 
 cept an absorbing and an excretory, opposite organs ; but, 
 by their elastic wings, like caterpillars or worms, they 
 creep in shallow waters, in which, when low, they can be 
 seen by a kind of swallow, the sharp bill of which, in 
 serted in the soft animal, draws a gummy and filament 
 ous substance, which, by drying, can be wrought into 
 the solid walls of their nest. Hence the name of gas 
 teropeda pulmonifera. 
 
 " This mollusca is oblong, and of different sizes, from 
 three to eighteen inches in length ; and I have seen a 
 few that were not less than two feet long. They are 
 nearly round, a little flattish on one side, which lies next 
 the bottom of the sea ; and they are from one to eight 
 inches thick. They crawl up into shallow water at par 
 ticular seasons of the year, probably for the purpose of 
 gendering, as we often find them in pairs. It is when 
 the sun has the most power on the water, rendering it 
 tepid, that they approach the shore ; and they often go up 
 into places so shallow, that, on the tide's receding, they 
 are left dry, exposed to the heat of the sun. But they 
 do not bring forth their young in shallow water, as we 
 never see any of their progeny, and the full-grown ones 
 
164 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 are always observed coming in from deep water. They 
 feed principally on that class of zoophytes which produce 
 the coral. 
 
 " The biche de mer is generally taken in three or four 
 feet water ; after which they are brought on shore, and 
 split at one end with a knife, the incision being one inch 
 or more, according to the size of the mollusca. Through 
 this opening the entrails are forced out by pressure, and 
 they are much like those of any other small tenant of the 
 deep. The article is then washed, and afterward boiled 
 to a certain degree, which must not be too much or too 
 little. They are then buried in the ground for four hours, 
 then boiled again for a short time, after which they are 
 dried, either by the fire or the sun. Those cured by the 
 sun are worth the most; but where one picul (1331 ibs.) 
 can be cured that way, I can cure thirty piculs by the fire. 
 When once properly cured, they can be kept in a dry place 
 for two or three years without any risk ; but they should 
 be examined once in every few months, say four times 
 a year, to see if .any dampness is likely to affect them. 
 
 " The Chinese, as before stated, consider biche de mer 
 a very great luxury, believing that it wonderfully strength 
 ens and nourishes the system, and renews the exhausted 
 system of the immoderate voluptuary. The first quality 
 commands a high price in Canton, being worth ninety 
 dollars a picul ; the second quality seventy-five dollars ; 
 the third fifty dollars ; the fourth thirty dollars ; the fifth 
 twenty dollars ; the sixth twelve dollars ; the seventh 
 eight dollars ; and the eighth four dollars ; small cargoes, 
 however, will often bring more in Manilla, Singapore, and 
 Batavia." 
 
 An agreement having been thus entered into, we pro 
 ceeded immediately to land everything necessary for pre 
 paring the buildings and clearing the ground. A large 
 flat space near the eastern shore of the bay was selected, 
 where there was plenty both of wood and water, and 
 within a convenient distance of the principal reefs on 
 which the biche demer was to be procured. We now all 
 set to work in good earnest, and soon, to the great as 
 tonishment of the savages, had felled a sufficient number 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 165 
 
 of trees for our purpose, getting them quickly in order 
 for the framework of the houses, which in two or three 
 days were so far under way that we could safely trust 
 the rest of the work to the three men whom we intended 
 to leave behind. These were John Carson, Alfred Har 
 ris, and Peterson (all natives of London, I believe), 
 
 who volunteered their services in this respect. 
 
 By the last of the month we had everything in readi 
 ness for departure. We had agreed, however, to pay a 
 formal visit of leavestaking to the village, and Too-wit 
 insisted so pertinaciously upon our keeping the promise, 
 that we did not think it advisable to run the risk of offend 
 ing him by a final refusal. I believe that not one of us 
 had at this time the slightest suspicion of the good faith 
 of the savages. They had uniformly behaved with the 
 greatest decorum, aiding us with alacrity in our work, 
 offering us their commodities frequently without price, 
 and never, in any instance, pilfering a single article, al 
 though the high value they set upon the goods we had 
 with us was evident by the extravagant demonstrations 
 of joy always manifested upon our making them a pres 
 ent. The women especially were most obliging in 
 every respect, and, upon the whole, we should have been 
 the most suspicious of human beings had we entertained 
 a single thought of perfidy on the part of a people who 
 treated us so well. A very short while sufficed to prove 
 that this apparent kindness of disposition was only the re 
 sult of a deeply -laid plan for our destruction, and that the 
 islanders for whom we entertained such inordinate feel 
 ings of esteem were among the most barbarous, subtle, 
 and bloodthirsty wretches that ever contaminated the face 
 of the globe. 
 
 It was on the first of February that we went on 
 shore for the purpose of visiting the village. Although, 
 as said before, we entertained not the slightest suspicion, 
 still no proper precaution was neglected. Six men were 
 left in the schooner with instructions to permit none of 
 the savages to approach the vessel during our absence, 
 under any pretence whatever, and to remain constantly 
 on deck. The boarding-nettings were up, the guns dou- 
 
166 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ble-shotted with grape and canister, and the swivel* 
 loaded with canisters of musket-balls. She lay, with 
 her anchor apeak, about a mile from the shore, and no 
 canoe could approach her in any direction without being 
 distinctly seen and exposed to the full fire of our swiv 
 els immediately. 
 
 The six men being left on board, our shore-party con 
 sisted of thirty-two persons in all. We were armed to 
 the teeth, having with us muskets, pistols, and cutlasses, 
 besides each a long kind of seaman's knife, somewhat re 
 sembling the Bowie knife now so much used throughout 
 our western and southern country. A hundred of the 
 black skin warriors met us at the landing for the purpose 
 of accompanying us on our way. We noticed, however, 
 with some surprise, that they were now entirely without 
 arms ; and, upon questioning Too-wit in relation to this 
 circumstance, he merely answered that Mattee non we pa 
 pa si meaning that there was no need of arms where 
 all were brothers. We took this in good part, and pro 
 ceeded. 
 
 We had passed the spring and rivulet of which I be 
 fore spoke, and were now entering upon a narrow gorge 
 leading through the chain of soapstone hills among which 
 the village was situated. This gorge was very rocky 
 and uneven, so much so that it was with no little diffi 
 culty we scrambled through it on our first visit to Klock- 
 klock. The whole length of the ravine might have been 
 a mile and a half, or probably two miles. It wound in 
 every possible direction through the hills (having appa 
 rently formed, at some remote period, the bed of a tor 
 rent), in no instance proceeding more than twenty yards 
 without an abrupt turn. The sides of this dell would 
 have averaged, I am sure, seventy or eighty feet in per 
 pendicular altitude throughout the whole of their extent, 
 and in some portions they arose to an astonishing height, 
 overshadowing the pass so completely that but little of 
 the light of day could penetrate. The general width 
 was 'about forty feet, and occasionally it diminished so 
 as not to allow the passage of more than five or six per 
 sons abreast, In short, there could be no place in the 
 
A> GORDON PYM. 167 
 
 world better adapted for the consummation of an ambus 
 cade, and it was no more than natural that we should 
 look carefully to our arms as we entered upon it. When 
 I now think of our egregious folly, the chief subject of as 
 tonishment seems to be, that we should have ever ven 
 tured, under any circumstances, so completely into the 
 power of unknown savages as to permit them to march 
 both before antl behind us in our progress through this ra 
 vine. Yet such was the order we blindly took up, trusting 
 foolishly to the force of our party, the unarmed condition 
 of Too-wit and his men, the certain efficacy of our fire 
 arms (whose effect was yet a secret to the natives), and, 
 more than all, to the long- sustained pretension of friend 
 ship kept up by these infamous wretches. Five or six 
 of them went on before, as if to lead the way, ostenta 
 tiously busying themselves in removing the larger stones 
 and rubbish from the path. Next came our own party. 
 We walked closely together, taking care only to prevent 
 separation. Behind followed the main body of the sav 
 ages, observing unusual order and decorum. 
 
 Dirk Peters, a man named Wilson Allen, and myself 
 were on the right of our companions, examining, as we 
 went along, the singular stratification of the precipice 
 which overhung us. A fissure in the soft rock attracted 
 our attention. It was about wide enough for one person 
 to enter without squeezing, and extended back into the 
 hill some eighteen or twenty feet in a straight course, 
 sloping afterward to the left. The height of the opening, 
 as far as we could see into it from the main gorge, was 
 perhaps sixty or seventy feet. There were one or two 
 stunted shrubs growing from the crevices, bearing a spe 
 cies of filbert, which I felt some curiosity to examine, 
 and pushed in briskly for that purpose, gathering five or 
 six of the nuts at a grasp, and then hastily retreating 
 As I turned, I found that Peters and Allen had followed 
 me. I desired them to go back, as there was not room 
 for two persons to pass, saying they should have some of 
 my nuts. They accordingly turned, and were scram 
 bling back, Allen being close to the mouth of the fissure, 
 when I was suddenly aware of a concussion resembling 
 
 
168 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 nothing I had ever before experienced, and which im 
 pressed me with a vague conception, if indeed I then 
 thought of anything, that the whole foundations of the 
 solid globe were suddenly rent asunder, and that the day 
 of universal dissolution was at hand. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 As soon as I could collect my scattered senses, I found 
 myself nearly suffocated, and grovelling in utter dark 
 ness among a quantity of loose earth, which was also 
 falling upon me heavily in every direction, threaten 
 ing to bury me entirely. Horribly alarmed at this idea, 
 I struggled to gain my feet, and at length succeeded. I 
 then remained motionless for some moments, endeavour 
 ing to conceive what had happened to me, and where I 
 was. Presently I heard a deep groan just at my ear, and 
 afterward the smothered voice of Peters calling to me 
 for aid in the name of God. I scrambled one or two 
 paces forward, when I fell directly over the head and 
 shoulders of my companion, who, I soon discovered, was 
 buried in a loose mass of earth as far as his middle, and 
 struggling desperately to free himself from the pressure. 
 I tore the dirt from around him with all the energy I could 
 command, and at length succeeded in getting him out. 
 
 As soon as we sufficiently recovered from our fright and 
 surprise to be capable of conversing rationally, we both 
 came to the conclusion that the walls of the fissure in 
 which we had ventured had, by some convulsion of na 
 ture, or probably from their own weight, caved in over 
 head, and that we were consequently lost for ever, being 
 thus entombed alive. For a long time we gave up su 
 pinely to the most intense agony and despair, such as 
 cannot be adequately imagined by those who have never 
 been in a similar situation. I firmly believe that no in 
 cident ever occurring in the course of human events is 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 169 
 
 more adapted to inspire the supremeness of mental and 
 bodily distress than a case like our own, of living in 
 humation. The blackness of darkness which envelops 
 the victim, the terrific oppression of lungs, the stifling 
 fumes from the damp earth, unite with the ghastly con 
 siderations that we are beyond the remotest confines of 
 hope, and that such is the allotted portion of the dead, to 
 carry into the human heart a degree of appalling awe and 
 horror not to be tolerated never to be conceived. 
 
 At length Peters proposed that we should endeavour 
 to ascertain precisely the extent of our calamity, and 
 grope about our prison ; it being barely possible, he ob 
 served, that some opening might be yet left us for escape. 
 I caught eagerly at this hope, and, arousing myself to ex 
 ertion, attempted to force my way through the loose earth. 
 Hardly had I advanced a single step before a glimmer of 
 light became perceptible, enough to convince me that, at 
 all events, we should not immediately perish for want of 
 air. We now took some degree of heart, and encouraged 
 each other to hope for the best. Having scrambled over 
 a bank of rubbish which impeded our farther progress 
 in the direction of the light, we found less difficulty in ad 
 vancing, and also experienced some relief from the ex 
 cessive oppression of lungs which had tormented us. 
 Presently we were enabled to obtain a glimpse of the ob 
 jects around, and discovered that we were near the 
 extremity of the straight portion of the fissure, whero it 
 made a turn to the left. A few struggles more, and 
 we reached the bend, when, to our inexpressible joy, there 
 appeared a long seam or crack extending upward a vast 
 distance, generally at an angle of about forty-five degrees, 
 although sometimes much more precipitous. We could 
 not see through the whole extent of this opening ; but, as 
 a good deal of light came down it, we had little doubt of 
 finding at the top of it (if we could by any means reach 
 the top) a clear passage into the open air. 
 
 I now called to mind that three of us had entered the 
 fissure from the main gorge, and that our companion, 
 Allen, was still missing ; we determined at once to re 
 trace our steps and look for him. After a long search, 
 P 
 
 
170 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 and much danger from the farther caving in of the earth 
 above us, Peters at length cried out to me that he had 
 hold of our companion's foot, and that his whole body 
 was deeply buried beneath the rubbish, beyond a possi 
 bility of extricating him. I soon found that what he said 
 was too true, and that, of course, life had been long ex 
 tinct. With sorrowful hearts, therefore, we left the 
 corpse to its fate, and again made our way to the bend. 
 
 The breadth of the seam was barely sufficient to ad 
 mit us, and, after one or two ineffectual efforts at getting 
 up, we began once more to despair. I have before said 
 that the chain of hills through which ran the main gorge 
 was composed of a species of soft rock resembling soap- 
 stone. The sides of the cleft we were now attempting to 
 ascend were of the same material, and so excessively 
 slippery, being wet, that we could get but little foothold 
 upon them even in their least precipitous parts ; in some 
 places, where the ascent was nearly perpendicular, the 
 difficulty was, of course, much aggravated ; and, indeed, 
 for some time we thought it insurmountable. We took 
 courage, however, from despair ; and what, by dint of cut 
 ting steps in the soft stone with our Bowie knives, and 
 swinging, at the risk of our lives, to small projecting 
 points of a harder species of slaty rock which now and 
 then protruded from the general mass, we at length 
 reached a natural platform, from which was perceptible 
 a patch of blue sky, at the extremity of a thickly-wooded 
 ravine. Looking back now, with somewhat more leisure, 
 at the passage through which we had thus far proceeded, 
 we clearly saw, from the appearance of its sides, that it 
 was of late formation, and we concluded that the con 
 cussion, whatever it was, which had so unexpectedly 
 overwhelmed us, had also, at the same moment, laid 
 open this path for escape. Being quite exhausted with 
 exertion, and, indeed, so weak that we were scarcely 
 able to stand or articulate, Peters now proposed that we 
 should endeavour to bring our companions to the rescue 
 by firing the pistols which still remained in our girdles 
 the muskets as well as cutlasses had been lost among 
 the loose earth at the bottom of the chasm. Subsequent 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 171 
 
 events proved that, had we fired, we should have sorely 
 repented it ; but, luckily, a half suspicion of foul play 
 had by this time arisen in my mind, and we forbore to 
 let the savages know of our whereabouts. 
 
 After having reposed for about an hour, we pushed on 
 slowly up the ravine, and had gone no great way before 
 we heard a succession of tremendous yells. At length 
 we reached what might be called the surface of the 
 ground ; for our path hitherto, since leaving the platform, 
 had lain beneath an archway of high rock and foliage, 
 at a vast distance overhead. With great caution we 
 stole to a narrow opening, through which we had a clear 
 sight of the surrounding country, when the whole dread 
 ful secret of the concussion broke upon us in one mo 
 ment and at one view. 
 
 The spot from which we looked was not far from the 
 summit of the highest peak in the range of the soapstone 
 hills. The gorge in which our party of thirty-two had 
 entered ran within fifty feet to the left of us. But, for 
 at least one hundred yards, the channel or bed of this 
 gorge was entirely filled up with the chaotic ruins of 
 more than a million tons of earth and stone that had 
 been artificially tumbled within it. The means by which 
 the vast mass had been precipitated were not more sim 
 ple than evident, for sure traces of the murderous work 
 were yet remaining. In several spots along the top of the 
 eastern side of the gorge (we were now on the western) 
 might be seen stakes of wood driven into the earth. In 
 these spots the earth had not given way ; but throughout 
 the whole extent of the face of the precipice from which 
 the mass had fallen, it was clear, from marks left in the 
 soil resembling those made by the drill of the rock- 
 blaster, that stakes similar to those we saw standing 
 had been inserted, at not more than a yard apart, for the 
 length of perhaps three hundred feet, and ranging at about 
 ten feet back from the edge of the gulf. Strong cords 
 of grape vine were attached to the stakes still remaining 
 on the hill, and it was evident that such cords had also 
 been attached to each of the other stakes. I have al 
 ready spoken of the singular stratification of these soap- 
 
172 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 stone hills ; and the description just given of the narrow 
 and deep fissure through which we effected our escape 
 from inhumation will afford a further conception of its 
 nature. This was such that almost every natural con 
 vulsion would be sure to split the soil into perpendicular 
 layers or ridges running parallel with one another ; and 
 a very moderate exertion of art would be sufficient for 
 effecting the same purpose. Of this stratification the 
 savages had availed themselves to accomplish their 
 treacherous ends. There can be no doubt that, by the 
 continuous line of stakes, a partial rupture of the soil 
 had been brought about, probably to the depth of one or 
 two feet, when, by means of a savage pulling at the end 
 of each of the cords (these cords being attached to the 
 tops of the stakes, and extending back from the edge of 
 the cliff), a vast leverage power was obtained, capable of 
 hurling the whole face of the hill, upon a given signal, 
 into the bosom of the abyss below. The fate of our 
 poor companions was no longer a matter of uncertainty. 
 We alone had escaped from the tempest of that over 
 whelming destruction. We were the only living white 
 men upon the island. , 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 OUR situation, as it now appeared, was scarcely less 
 dreadful than when we had conceived ourselves en 
 tombed for ever. We saw before us no prospect but 
 that of being put to death by the savages, or of dragging 
 out a miserable existence in captivity among them. We 
 might, to be sure, conceal ourselves for a time from their 
 observation among the fastnesses of the hills, and, as a 
 final resort, in the chasm from which we had just issued ; 
 but we must either perish in the long Polar winter 
 through cold and famine, or be ultimately discovered in 
 our efforts to obtain relief. 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 173 
 
 The whole country around us seemed to be swarming 
 with savages, crowds of whom, we now perceived, had 
 come over from the islands to the southward on flat 
 rafts, doubtless with a view of lending their aid in the 
 capture and plunder of the Jane. The vessel still lay 
 calmly at anchor in the bay, those on board being appa 
 rently quite unconscious of any danger awaiting them. 
 How we longed at that moment to be with them ! either 
 to aid in effecting their escape, or to perish with them in 
 attempting a defence. We saw no chance even of 
 warning them of their danger without bringing imme 
 diate destruction upon our own heads, with but a remote 
 hope of benefit to them. A pistol fired might suffice to 
 apprize them that something wrong had occurred ; but 
 the report could not possibly inform them that their only 
 prospect of safety lay in getting out of the harbour forth 
 with it could not tell them that no principles of honour 
 now bound them to remain, that their companions were 
 no longer among the living. Upon hearing the discharge 
 they could not be more thoroughly prepared to meet the 
 foe, who were now getting ready to attack, than they al 
 ready were, and always had been. No good, therefore, 
 and infinite harm, would result from our firing, and, after 
 mature deliberation, we forbore. 
 
 Our next thought was to attempt a rush towards the 
 vessel, to seize one of the four canoes which lay at the 
 head of the bay, and endeavour to force a passage on 
 board. But the utter impossibility of succeeding in this 
 desperate task soon became evident. The country, as I 
 said before, was literally swarming with the natives, 
 skulking among the bushes and recesses of the hills, so 
 as not to be observed from the schooner. In our imme 
 diate vicinity especially, and blockading the sole path 
 by which we could hope to attain the shore in the prop 
 er point, were stationed the whole party of the black 
 skin warriors, with Too-wit at their head, and apparently 
 only waiting for some re-enforcement to commence his 
 onset upon the Jane. The canoes, too, which lay at 
 the head of the bay were manned with savages, unarmed, 
 it is true, but who undoubtedly had arms within reach. 
 P2 
 
174 NARHATIVE OP 
 
 We were forced, therefore, however unwillingly, to re 
 main in our place of concealment, mere spectators of the 
 conflict which presently ensued. 
 
 In about half an hour we saw some sixty or seventy 
 rafts, or flatboats, with outriggers, filled with savages, 
 and coming round the southern bight of the harbour. 
 They appeared to have no arms except short clubs, and 
 stones which lay in the bottom of the rafts. Immediately 
 afterward another detachment, still larger, approached in 
 an opposite direction, and with similar weapons. The 
 four canoes, too, were now quickly filled with natives, 
 starting up from the bushes at the head of the bay, and 
 put off swiftly to join the other parties. Thus, in less 
 time than I have taken to tell it, and as if by magic, the 
 Jane saw herself surrounded by an immense multitude 
 of desperadoes evidently bent upon capturing her at all 
 hazards. 
 
 That they would succeed in so doing could not be 
 doubted for an instant. The six men left in the vessel, 
 however resolutely they might engage in her defence, 
 were altogether unequal to the proper management of 
 the guns, or in any manner to sustain a contest at such 
 odds. I could hardly imagine that they would make re 
 sistance at all, but in this was deceived ; for presently 
 I saw them get springs upon the cable, and bring the 
 vessel's starboard broadside to bear upon the canoes, 
 which by this time were within pistol range, the rafts 
 being nearly a quarter of a mile to windward. Owing 
 to some cause unknown, but most probably to the agita 
 tion of our poor friends at seeing themselves in so hope 
 less a situation, the discharge was an entire failure. 
 Not a canoe was hit or a single savage injured, the 
 shots striking short and ricocheting over their heads. 
 The only effect produced upon them was astonishment 
 at the unexpected report and smoke, which was so ex 
 cessive that for some moments I almost thought they 
 would abandon their design entirely, and return to the 
 shore. And this they would most likely have done had 
 our men followed up their broadside by a discharge of 
 small arms, in which, as the canoes were now so near 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 175 
 
 at hand, they could not have failed in doing some execu 
 tion, sufficient, at least, to deter this party from a farther 
 advance, until they could have given the rafts also a 
 broadside. But, in place of this, they left the canoe 
 party to recover from their panic, and, by looking about 
 them, to see that no injury had been sustained, while 
 they flew to the larboard to get ready for the rafts. 
 
 The discharge to larboard produced the most terrible 
 effect. The star and double-headed shot of the large 
 guns cut seven or eight of the rafts completely asunder, 
 and killed, perhaps, thirty or forty of the savages outright, 
 while a hundred of them, at least, were thrown into the 
 water, the most of them dreadfully wounded. The re 
 mainder, frightened out of their senses, commenced at 
 once a precipitate retreat, not even waiting to pick up 
 their maimed companions, who were swimming about in 
 every direction, screaming and yelling for aid. This 
 great success, however, came too late for the salvation 
 of our devoted people. The canoe party were already 
 on board the schooner to the number of more than a 
 hundred and fifty, the most of them having succeeded in 
 scrambling up the chains and over the boarding net 
 tings even before the matches had been applied to the 
 larboard guns. Nothing could now withstand their 
 brute rage. Our men were borne down at once, over 
 whelmed, trodden under foot, and absolutely torn to 
 pieces in an instant. 
 
 Seeing this, the savages on the rafts got the better of 
 their fears, and came up in shoals to the plunder. In 
 five minutes the Jane was a pitiable scene indeed of 
 havoc and tumultuous outrage. The decks were split 
 open and ripped up ; the cordage, sails, and everything 
 moveable on deck demolished as if by magic ; while, 
 by dint of pushing at the stern, towing with the canoes, 
 and hauling at the sides, as they swam in thousands 
 around the vessel, the wretches finally forced her on shore 
 (the cable having been slipped), and delivered her over 
 to the good offices of Too-wit, who, during the whole 
 of the engagement, had maintained, like a skilful general, 
 his post of security and reconnoissance among the hills, 
 
 
176 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 but, now that the victory was completed to his satisfac 
 tion, condescended to scamper down with his warriors 
 of the black skin, and become a partaker in the spoils. 
 
 Too- wit's descent left us at liberty to quit our hiding- 
 place and reconnoitre the hill in the vicinity of the 
 chasm. At about fifty yards from the mouth of it we 
 saw a small spring of water, at which we slaked the 
 burning thirst that now consumed us. Not far from the 
 spring we discovered several of the filbert-bushes which 
 I mentioned before. Upon tasting the nuts we found 
 them palatable, and very nearly resembling in flavour 
 the common English filbert. We collected our hats full 
 immediately, deposited them within the ravine, and re 
 turned for more. While we were busily employed in 
 gathering these, a rustling in the bushes alarmed us, 
 and we were upon the point of stealing back to our cov 
 ert, when a large black bird of the bittern species strug- 
 glingly and slowly arose above the shrubs. I was so 
 much startled that I could do nothing, but Peters had 
 sufficient presence of mind to run up to it before it 
 could make its escape, and seize it by the neck. Its 
 struggles and screams were tremendous, and we had 
 thoughts of letting it go, lest the noise should alarm 
 some of the savages who might be still lurking in the 
 neighbourhood. A stab with a Bowie knife, however, 
 at length brought it to the ground, and we dragged it into 
 the ravine, congratulating ourselves that, at all events, 
 we had thus obtained a supply of food enojugh to last us 
 for a week. 
 
 We now went out again to look about us, and ventured 
 a considerable distance down the southern declivity of 
 the hill, but met with nothing else which could serve us 
 for food. We therefore collected a quantity of dry wood 
 and returned, seeing one or two large parties of the na 
 tives on their way to the village, laden with the plunder 
 of the vessel, and who, we were apprehensive, might 
 discover us in passing beneath the hill. 
 
 Our next care was to render our place of concealment 
 as secure as possible, and, with this object, we arranged 
 some brushwood over the aperture which I have before 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 177 
 
 spoken of as the one through which we saw the patch 
 of blue sky, on reaching the platform from the interior 
 of the chasm. We left only a very small opening, just 
 wide enough to admit of our seeing the bay, without the 
 risk of being discovered from below. Having done this, 
 we congratulated ourselves upon the security of the po 
 sition ; for we were now completely excluded from ob 
 servation, as long as we chose to remain within the ra 
 vine itself, and not venture out upon the hill. We could 
 perceive no traces of the savages having ever been 
 within this hollow ; but, indeed, when we came to re 
 flect upon the probability that the fissure through which 
 we attained it had been only just now created by the 
 fall of the cliff opposite, and that no other way of attain 
 ing it could be perceived, we were not so much rejoiced 
 at the thought of being secure from molestation as fear 
 ful lest there should be absolutely no means left us for 
 descent. We resolved to explore the summit of the hill 
 thoroughly, when a good opportunity should offer. In 
 the mean time we watched the motions of the savages 
 through our loophole. 
 
 They had already made a complete wreck of the ves 
 sel, and were now preparing to set her on fire. In a 
 little while we saw the smoke ascending in huge volumes 
 from her main-hatchway, and, shortly afterward, a dense 
 mass of flame burst up from the forecastle. The rigging, 
 masts, and what remained of the sails caught immedi 
 ately, and the fire spread rapidly along the decks. Still 
 a great many of the savages retained their stations about 
 her, hammering with large stones, axes, and cannon balls 
 at the bolts and other copper and iron work. On the 
 beach, and in canoes and rafts, there were not less, alto 
 gether, in the immediate vicinity of the schooner, than 
 ten thousand natives, besides the shoals of them who, 
 laden with booty, were making their way inland and 
 over to the neighbouring islands. We now anticipated 
 a catastrophe, and were not disappointed. First of all 
 there came a smart shock (which we felt distinctly where 
 we were as if we had been slightly galvanized), but unat 
 tended with any visible signs of an explosion. The sav- 
 
178 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ages were evidently startled, and paused for an instant 
 from their labours and yellings. They were upon the 
 point of recommencing, when suddenly a mass of smoke 
 puffed up from the decks, resembling a black and heavy 
 thunder-cloud then, as if from its bowels, arose a tall 
 stream of vivid fire to the height, apparently, of a quarter 
 of a mile then there came a sudden circular expansion 
 of the flame then the whole atmosphere was magically 
 crowded, in a single instant, with a wild chaos of wood, 
 and metal, and human limbs and, lastly, came the con 
 cussion in its fullest fury, which hurled us impetuously 
 from our feet, while the hills echoed and re-echoed the 
 tumult, and a dense shower of the minutest fragments of 
 the ruins tumbled headlong in every direction around us. 
 
 The havoc among the savages far exceeded our utmost 
 expectation, and they had now, indeed, reaped the full 
 and perfect fruits of their treachery. Perhaps a thou 
 sand perished by the explosion, while at least an equal 
 number were desperately mangled. The whole surface 
 of the bay was literally strewn with the struggling and 
 drowning wretches, and on shore matters were even 
 worse. They seemed utterly appalled by the sudden 
 ness and completeness of their discomfiture, and made 
 no efforts at assisting one another. At length we ob 
 served a total change in their demeanour. From abso 
 lute stupor they appeared to be, all at once, aroused to 
 the highest pitch of excitement, and rushed wildly about, 
 going to and from a certain point on the beach, with the 
 strangest expressions of mingled horror, rage, and intense 
 curiosity depicted on their countenances, and shouting, 
 at the top of their voices, Tekeli-li ! TeMi-li ! 
 
 Presently we saw a large body go off into the hills, 
 whence they returned in a short time, carrying stakes of 
 wood. These they brought to the station where the 
 crowd was the thickest, which now separated so as to 
 afford us a view of the object of all this excitement. 
 We perceived something white lying on the ground, but 
 could not immediately make out what it was. At length 
 we saw that it was the carcass of the strange animal 
 with the scarlet teeth and claws which the schooner had 
 
A, GORDON PYM. 179 
 
 picked up at sea on the eighteenth of January. Captain 
 Guy had had the body preserved for the purpose of stuf 
 fing the skin and taking it to England. I remember he 
 had given some directions about it just before our making 
 the island, and it had been brought into the cabin and 
 stowed away in one of the lockers. It had now been 
 thrown on shore by the explosion ; but why it had occa 
 sioned so much concern among the savages was more 
 than we could comprehend. Although they crowded 
 around the carcass at a little distance, none of them 
 seemed willing to approach it closely. By-and-by the 
 men with the stakes drove them in a circle around it, 
 and, no sooner was this arrangement completed, than the 
 whole of the vast assembly rushed into the interior of 
 the island, with loud screams of Tekeli-li ! Tekeli-li ! 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 DURING the six or seven days immediately following 
 we remained in our hiding-place upon the hill, going out 
 only occasionally, and then with the greatest precaution, 
 for water and filberts. We had made a kind of pent 
 house on the platform, furnishing it with a bed of dry 
 leaves, and placing in it three large flat stones, which 
 served us for both fireplace and table. We kindled a 
 fire without difficulty by rubbing two pieces of dry wood 
 together, the one soft, the other hard. The bird we had 
 taken in such good season proved excellent eating, al 
 though somewhat tough. It was not an oceanic fowl, 
 but a species of bittern, with jet black and grizzly plu 
 mage, and diminutive wings in proportion to its bulk. 
 We afterward saw three of the same kind in the vicinity 
 of the ravine, apparently seeking for the one we had 
 captured ; but, as they never alighted, we had no oppor 
 tunity of catching them. 
 
 As long as this fowl lasted we suffered nothing from 
 
 
180 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 our situation ; but it was now entirely consumed, and it- 
 became absolutely necessary that we should look out for 
 provision. The filberts would not satisfy the cravings 
 of hunger, afflicting us, too, with severe gripings of the 
 bowels, and, if freely indulged in, with violent headache. 
 We had seen several large tortoises near the seashore 
 to the eastward of the hill, and perceived they might be 
 easily taken, if we could get at them without the obser 
 vation of the natives. It was resolved, therefore, to 
 make an attempt at descending. 
 
 We commenced by going down the southern declivity, 
 which seemed to offer the fewest difficulties, but had not 
 proceeded a hundred yards before (as we had anticipa 
 ted from appearances on the hill-top) our progress was 
 entirely arrested by a branch of the gorge in which our 
 companions had perished. We now passed along the 
 edge of this for about a quarter of a mile, when we were 
 again stopped by a precipice of immense depth, and, not 
 being able to make our way along the brink of it, we 
 were forced to retrace our steps by the main ravine. 
 
 We now pushed over to the eastward, but with pre 
 cisely similar fortune. After an hour's scramble, at the 
 risk of breaking our necks, we discovered that we had 
 merely descended into a vast pit of black granite, with 
 fine dust at the bottom, and whence the only egress was 
 by the rugged path in which we had come down. Toil 
 ing again up this path, we now tried the northern edge 
 of the hill. Here we were obliged to use the greatest 
 possible caution in our manoeuvres, as the least indis 
 cretion would expose us to the full view of the sava 
 ges in the village. We crawled along, therefore, on our 
 hands and knees, and, occasionally, were even forced to 
 throw ourselves at full length, dragging our bodies along 
 by means of th shrubbery. In this careful manner wa 
 had proceeded but a little way, when we arrived at a 
 chasm far deeper than any we had yet seen, and leading 
 directly into the main gorge. Thus our fears were fully 
 confirmed, and we found ourselves cut off entirely from 
 access to the world below. Thoroughly exhausted by 
 eur exertions, we made the best of our way back to the 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 181 
 
 platform, and, throwing ourselves upon the bed of leaves, 
 slept sweetly and soundly for some hours. 
 
 For several days after this fruitless search we were 
 occupied in exploring every part of the summit of the 
 hill, in order to inform ourselves of its actual resources. 
 We found that it would afford us no food, with the ex 
 ception of the unwholesome filberts, and a rank species 
 of scurvy grass which grew in a little patch of not more 
 than four rods square, and would be soon exhausted. 
 On the fifteenth of February, as near as I can remember, 
 there was not a blade of this left, and the nuts were 
 growing scarce ; our situation, therefore, could hardly be 
 more lamentable.* On the sixteenth we again went 
 round the walls of our prison, in hope of finding some 
 avenue of escape, but to no purpose. We also de 
 scended the chasm in which we had been overwhelmed, 
 with the faint expectation of discovering, through this 
 channel, some opening to the main ravine. Here, too, 
 we were disappointed, although we found and brought 
 up with us a musket. 
 
 On the seventeenth we set out with the determination 
 of examining more thoroughly the chasm of black granite 
 into which we had made our way in the first search. 
 We remembered that one of the fissures in the sides of 
 this pit had been but partially looked into, and we were 
 anxious to explore it, although with no expectation of 
 discovering here any opening. 
 
 We found no great difficulty in reaching the bottom 
 of the hollow as before, and were now sufficiently calm 
 to survey it with some attention. It was, indeed, one 
 of the most singular-looking places imaginable, and we 
 could scarcely bring ourselves to believe it altogether 
 the work of nature. The pit, from its eastern to its 
 western extremity, was about five hundred yards in 
 length, when all its windings were threaded; the dis 
 tance from east to west in a straight line not being more 
 (I should suppose, having no means of accurate examin- 
 
 * This day was rendered remarkable by our observing in the 
 south several huge wreaths of the grayish vapour I have before 
 epoken of. 
 
 Q 
 
182 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ation) than forty or fifty yards. Upon first descending 
 into the chasm, that is to say, for a hundred feet down 
 ward from the summit of the hill, the sides of the abyss 
 bore little resemblance to each other, and, apparently, 
 had at no time been connected, the one surface being of 
 the soapstone and the other of marl, granulated with 
 some metallic matter. The average breadth, or inter 
 val between the two cliffs, was probably here sixty feet, 
 but there seemed to be no regularity of formation. Pas 
 sing down, however, beyond the limit spoken of, the in 
 terval rapidly contracted, and the sides began to run 
 parallel, although, for some distance farther, they were 
 still dissimilar in their material and form of surface. 
 Upon arriving within fifty feet of the bottom, a perfect 
 regularity commenced. The sides were now entirely 
 uniform in substance, in colour, and in lateral direction, 
 the material being a very black and shining granite, and 
 the distance between the two sides, at all points facing 
 each other, exactly twenty yards. The precise forma 
 tion of the chasm will be best understood by means of a 
 delineation taken upon the spot ; for I had luckily with 
 me a pocketbook and pencil, which J preserved with 
 great care through a long series of subsequent adventure, 
 and to which I am indebted for memoranda of many sub 
 jects which would otherwise have been crowded from my 
 remembrance. 
 
 Figure I 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 183 
 
 This figure (see figure 1) gives the general outlines 
 of the chasm, without the minor cavities in the sides, of 
 which there were several, each cavity having a corre 
 sponding protuberance opposite. The bottom of the gulf 
 was covered to the depth of three or four inches with a 
 powder almost impalpable, beneath which we found a 
 continuation of the black granite. To the right, at the 
 lower extremity, will be noticed the appearance of a 
 small opening ; this is the fissure alluded to above, and 
 to examine which more minutely than before was the 
 object of our second visit. We now pushed into it with 
 vigour, cutting away a quantity of brambles which im 
 peded us, and removing a vast heap of sharp flints some 
 what resembling arrowheads in shape. We were en 
 couraged to persevere, however, by perceiving some 
 little light proceeding from the farther end. We at 
 length squeezed our way for about thirty feet, and found 
 that the aperture was a low and regularly-formed arch, 
 having a bottom of the same impalpable powder as that 
 in the main chasm. A strong light now broke upon us, 
 and, turning a short bend, we found ourselves in another 
 lofty chamber, similar to the one we had left in every 
 respect but longitudinal form. Its general figure is here 
 given. (See figure 2.) 
 
 Figure 2. 
 
 
184 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 The total length of this chasm, commencing at the 
 opening a and proceeding round the curve b to the ex 
 tremity d, is five hundred and fifty yards. At c we dis 
 covered a small aperture similar to the one through 
 which we had issued from the other chasm, and this was 
 choked up in the same manner with brambles and a 
 quantity of the white arrowhead flints. We forced our 
 way through it, finding it about forty feet long, and 
 emerged into a third chasm. This, too, was precisely 
 like the first, except in its longitudinal shape, which was 
 thus. (See figure 3.) 
 
 Figure 3. Figure 5 
 
 We found the entire length of the third chasm three 
 hundred and twenty yards. At the point a was an open 
 ing about six feet wide, and extending fifteen feet into 
 the rock, where it terminated in a bed of marl, there 
 being no other chasm beyond, as we had expected. We 
 were about leaving this fissure, into which very little 
 light was admitted, when Peters called my attention to 
 a range of singular-looking indentures in the surface of 
 the marl forming the termination of the cul-de-sac. With 
 a very slight exertion of the imagination, the left, or most 
 northerly of these indentures might have been taken for 
 the intentional, although rude, representation of a human 
 figure standing erect, with outstretched arm. The rest 
 of them bore also some little resemblance to alphabetical 
 characters, and Peters was willing, at all events, to adopt 
 the idle opinion that they were really such. I convinced 
 him of his error, finally, by directing his attention to the 
 floor of the fissure, where, among the powder, we picked " 
 up, piece by piece, several large flakes of the marl, 
 which had evidently been broken off by some convulsion 
 from the surface where the indentures were found, and 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 185 
 
 which had projecting points exactly fitting the indentures ; 
 thus proving them to have been the work of nature. 
 Figure 4. presents an accurate copy of the whole. 
 
 Figure 4. 
 
 After satisfying ourselves that these singular caverns 
 afforded us no means of escape from our prison, we 
 made our way back, dejected and dispirited, to the sum 
 mit of the hill. Nothing worth mentioning occurred du 
 ring the next twenty-four hours, except that, in examin 
 ing the ground to the eastward of the third chasm, we 
 found two triangular holes of great depth, and also with 
 black granite sides. Into these holes we did not think 
 it worth while to attempt descending, as they had the 
 appearance of mere natural wells, without outlet. They 
 were each about twenty yards in circumference, and 
 their shape, as well as relative position in regard to the 
 third chasm, is shown in figure 5, preceding page. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 ON the twentieth of the month, finding it altogether 
 impossible to subsist any longer upon the filberts, the 
 use of which occasioned us the most excruciating tor 
 ment, we resolved to make a desperate attempt at de 
 scending the southern declivity of the hill. The face of 
 Q2 
 
186 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the precipice was here of the softest species of soapstone, 
 although nearly perpendicular throughout its whole ex 
 tent (a depth of a hundred and fifty feet at the least), 
 and in many places even overarching. After long 
 search we discovered a narrow ledge about twenty feet 
 below the brink of the gulf; upon this Peters contrived 
 to leap, with what assistance I could render him by 
 means of our pocket-handkerchiefs tied together. With 
 somewhat more difficulty I also got down ; and we then 
 saw the possibility of descending the whole way by the 
 process in which we had clambered up from the chasm 
 when we had been buried by the fall of the hill that is, 
 by cutting steps in the face of the soapstone with our 
 knives. The extreme hazard of the attempt can scarcely 
 be conceived ; but, as there was no other resource, we 
 determined to undertake it. 
 
 Upon the ledge where we stood there grew some fil 
 bert-bushes ; and to one of these we made fast an end 
 of our rope of handkerchiefs. The other end being tied 
 round Peters's waist, I lowered him down over the edge 
 of the precipice until the handkerchiefs were stretched 
 tight. He now proceeded to dig a deep hole in the 
 soapstone (as far in as eight or ten inches), sloping 
 away the rock above to the height of a foot, or therea 
 bout, so as to allow of his driving, with the butt of a 
 pistol, a tolerably strong peg into the levelled surface. 
 I then drew him up for about four feet, when he made a 
 hole similar to the one below, driving in a peg as before, 
 and having thus a resting-place for both feet and hands. 
 I now unfastened the handkerchiefs from the bush, throw 
 ing him the end, which he tied to the peg in the upper 
 most hole, letting himself down gently to a station about 
 three feet lower than he had yet been, that is, to the full 
 extent of the handkerchiefs. Here he dug another hole, 
 and drove another peg. He then drew himself up, so 
 as to rest his feet in the hole just cut, taking hold with 
 his hands upon the peg in the one above. It was now 
 necessary to untie the handkerchiefs from the topmost 
 peg, with the view of fastening them to the second ; and 
 here he found that an error had been committed in cut- 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 187 
 
 ting the holes at so great a distance apart. However, 
 after one or two unsuccessful and dangerous attempts at 
 reaching the knot (having to hold on with his left hand 
 while he laboured to undo the fastening with his right), 
 he at length cut the string, leaving six inches of it af 
 fixed to the peg. Tying the handkerchiefs now to the 
 second peg, he descended to a station below the third, 
 taking care not to go too far down. By these means 
 (means which I should never have conceived of myself, 
 and for which we were indebted altogether to Peters's 
 ingenuity and resolution) my companion finally suc 
 ceeded, with the occasional aid of projections in the cliff, 
 in reaching the bottom without accident. 
 
 It was some time before I could summon sufficient 
 resolution to follow him ; but I did at length attempt it. 
 Peters had taken off his shirt before descending, and this, 
 with my own, formed the rope necessary for the adven 
 ture. After throwing down the musket found in the 
 hasm, I fastened this rope to the bushes, and let myself 
 down rapidly, striving, by the vigour of my movements, 
 to banish the trepidation which I could overcome in no 
 other manner. This answered sufficiently well for the 
 first four or five steps ; but presently I found my ima 
 gination growing terribly excited by thoughts of the vast 
 depth yet to be descended, and the precarious nature of 
 the pegs and soapstone holes which were my only sup 
 port. It was in vain I endeavoured to banish these re 
 flections, and to keep my eyes steadily bent upon the 
 flat surface of the cliff before me. The more earnestly I 
 struggled not to think, the more intensely vivid became 
 my conceptions, and the more horribly distinct. At 
 length arrived that crisis of fancy, so fearful in all simi 
 lar cases, the crisis in which we begin to anticipate the 
 feelings with which we shall fall to picture to ourselves 
 the sickness, and dizziness, and the last struggle, and 
 the half swoon, and the final bitterness of the rushing 
 and headlong descent. And now I found these fancies 
 creating their own realities, and all imagined horrors 
 crowding upon me in fact. I felt my knees strike vio 
 lently together, while my fingers were gradually yet cer- 
 
IBS NARRATIVE OF 
 
 tainly relaxing their grasp. There was a ringing in my 
 ears, and I said, " This is my knell of death !" And 
 now I was consumed with the irrepressible desire of 
 looking below. I could not, I would not, confine my 
 glances to the cliff; and, with a wild, indefinable emotion 
 half of horror, half of a relieved oppression, I threw my 
 vision far down into the abyss. For one moment my 
 fingers clutched convulsively upon their hold, while, 
 with the movement, the faintest possible idea of ultimate 
 escape wandered, like a shadow, through my mind in 
 the next my whole soul was pervaded with a longing to 
 fall; a desire, a yearning, a passion utterly uncontrolla 
 ble. I let go at once my grasp upon the peg, and, turning 
 half round from the precipice, remained tottering for an 
 instant against its naked face. But now there came a 
 spinning of the brain ; a shrill-sounding and phantom 
 voice screamed within my ears ; a dusky, fiendish, and 
 filmy figure stood immediately beneath me; and, sighing, 
 I sunk down with a bursting heart, and plunged within 
 its arms. 
 
 I had swooned, and Peters had caught me as I fell. 
 He had observed my proceedings from his station at the 
 bottom of the cliff; and, perceiving my imminent danger, 
 had endeavoured to inspire me with courage by every 
 suggestion he could devise ; although my confusion of 
 mind had been so great as to prevent my hearing what 
 he said, or being conscious that he had even spoken to 
 me at all. At length, seeing me totter, he hastened to 
 ascend to my rescue, and arrived just in time for my 
 preservation. Had I fallen with my full weight, the 
 rope of linen would inevitably have snapped, and I 
 should have been precipitated into the abyss ; as it was, 
 he contrived to let me down gently, so as to remain sus 
 pended without danger until animation returned. This 
 was in about fifteen minutes. On recovery, my trepida 
 tion had entirely vanished ; I felt a new being, and, with 
 some little further aid from my companion, reached the 
 bottom also in safety. 
 
 We now found ourselves not far from the ravine 
 which had proved the tomb of our friends, and to the 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 189 
 
 southward of the spot where the hill had fallen. The 
 place was one of singular wildness, and its aspect 
 brought to my mind the descriptions given by travellers 
 of those dreary regions marking the site of degraded 
 Babylon. Not to speak of the ruins of the disruptured 
 cliff, which formed a chaotic barrier in the vista to the 
 northward, the surface of the ground in every other di 
 rection was strewn with huge tumuli, apparently the 
 wreck of some gigantic structures of art ; although, in 
 detail, no semblance of art could be detected. Scoria 
 were abundant, and large shapeless blocks of the black 
 granite, intermingled with others of marl,* and both gran 
 ulated with metal. Of vegetation there were no traces 
 whatsoever throughout the whole of the desolate area 
 within sight. Several immense scorpions were seen, and 
 various reptiles not elsewhere to be found in the high 
 latitudes. 
 
 As food was our most immediate object, we resolved 
 to make our way to the seacoast, distant not more than 
 half a mile, with a view of catching turtle, several of 
 which we had observed from our place of concealment 
 on the hill. We had proceeded some hundred yards, 
 threading our route cautiously between the huge rocks 
 and tumuli, when, upon turning a corner, five savages 
 sprung upon us from a small cavern, felling Peters to the 
 ground with a blow from a club. As he fell the whole 
 party rushed upon him to secure their victim, leaving me 
 time to recover from my astonishment. I still had the 
 musket, but the barrel had received so much injury in 
 being thrown from the precipice that I cast it aside as 
 useless, preferring to trust my pistols, which had been 
 carefully preserved in order. With these I advanced 
 upon the assailants, firing one after the other in quick 
 succession. Two savages fell, and one, who was in the 
 act of thrusting a spear into Peters, sprung to his feet 
 without accomplishing his purpose. My companion being 
 thus released, we had no further difficulty. He had his 
 pistols also, but prudently declined using them, confiding 
 
 * The marl was also black ; indeed, we noticed no light-coloured 
 substances of any kind upon the island. 
 
190 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 in his great personal strength, which far exceeded that 
 of any person I have ever known. Seizing a club from 
 one of the savages who had fallen, he dashed out the 
 brains of the three who remained, killing each instanta 
 neously with a single blow of the weapon, and leaving 
 us completely masters of the field. 
 
 So rapidly had these events passed, that we could 
 scarely believe in their reality, and were standing over 
 the bodies of the dead in a species of stupid contempla 
 tion, when we were brought to recollection by the sound 
 of shouts in the distance. It was clear that the savages 
 had been alarmed by the firing, and that we had little 
 chance of avoiding discovery. To regain the cliff, it 
 would be necessary to proceed in the direction of the 
 shouts ; and even should we succeed in arriving at its 
 base, we should never be able to ascend it without being 
 seen. Our situation was one of the greatest peril, and 
 we were hesitating in which path to commence a flight, 
 when one of the savages whom I had shot, and supposed 
 dead, sprang briskly to his feet, and attempted to make 
 his escape. We overtook him, however, before he had 
 advanced many paces, and were about to put him to 
 death, when Peters suggested that we might derive some 
 benefit from forcing him to accompany us in our attempt 
 at escape. We therefore dragged him with us, making 
 him understand that we would shoot him if he offered 
 resistance. In a few minutes he was perfectly submis 
 sive, and ran by our sides as we pushed in among the 
 rocks, making for the seashore. 
 
 So far, the irregularities of the ground we had been 
 traversing hid the sea, except at intervals, from our sight, 
 and, when we first had it fairly in view, it was, perhaps, 
 two hundred yards distant. As we emerged into the 
 open beach we saw, to our great dismay, an immense 
 crowd of the natives pouring from the village, and from 
 all visible quarters of the island, making towards us with 
 gesticulations of extreme fury, and howling like wild 
 beasts. We were upon the point of turning upon our 
 steps, and trying to secure a retreat among the fastnesses 
 of the rougher ground, when I discovered the bows of 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 191 
 
 two canoes projecting from behind a large rock which 
 ran out into the water. Towards these we now ran with 
 all speed, and, reaching them, found them unguarded, 
 and without any other freight than three of the large Gal- 
 lipago turtles and the usual supply of paddles for sixty 
 rowers. We instantly took possession of one of them, 
 and, forcing our captive on board, pushed out to sea 
 with all the strength we could command. 
 
 We had not made, however, more than fifty yards 
 from the shore before we became sufficiently calm to 
 perceive the great oversight of which we had been guilty 
 in leaving the other canoe in the power of the savages, 
 who, by this time, were not more than twice as far from 
 the beach as ourselves, and were rapidly advancing to 
 the pursuit. No time was now to be lost. Our hope 
 was, at best, a forlorn one, but we had none other. It 
 was very doubtful whether, with the utmost exertion, we 
 could get back in time to anticipate them in taking pos 
 session of the canoe ; but yet there was a chance that 
 we could. We might save ourselves if we succeeded, 
 while not to make the attempt was to resign ourselves 
 to inevitable butchery. 
 
 The canoe was modelled with the bow and stern 
 alike, and, in place of turning it round, we merely 
 changed our position in paddling. As soon as the sav 
 ages perceived this they redoubled their yells, as well 
 as their speed, and approached with inconceivable ra 
 pidity. We pulled, however, with all the energy of des 
 peration, and arrived at the contested point before more 
 than one of the natives had attained it. This man paid 
 dearly for his superior agility, Peters shooting him through 
 the head with a pistol as he approached the shore. The 
 foremost among the rest of his party were probably 
 some twenty or thirty paces distant as we seized upon 
 the canoe. We at first endeavoured to pull her into the 
 4eep water, beyond the reach of the savages, but, finding 
 her too firmly aground, and there being no time to spare, 
 Peters, with one or two heavy strokes from the butt of 
 the musket, succeeded in dashing out a large portion of 
 the bow and of one side. We then pushed off. Two 
 
192 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 of the natives by this time had got hold of our boat, ob 
 stinately refusing to let go, until we were forced to de 
 spatch them with our knives. We were now clear off, 
 and making great way out to sea. The main body of 
 the savages, upon reaching the broken canoe, set up 
 the most tremendous yell of rage and disappointment 
 conceivable. In truth, from everything I could see of 
 these wretches, they appeared to be the most wicked, 
 hypocritical, vindictive, bloodthirsty, and altogether fiend 
 ish race of men upon the face of the globe. It is clear 
 we should have had no mercy had we fallen into their 
 hands. They made a mad attempt at following us in 
 the fractured canoe, but, finding it useless, again vented 
 their rage in a series of hideous vociferations, and rushed 
 up into the hills. 
 
 We were thus relieved from immediate danger, but 
 our situation was still sufficiently gloomy. We knew 
 that four canoes of the kind we had were at one 
 time in the possession of the savages, and were not 
 aware of the fact (afterward ascertained from our cap 
 tive) that two of these had been blown to pieces in the 
 explosion of the Jane Guy. We calculated, therefore, 
 upon being yet pursued, as soon as our enemies could 
 get round to the bay (distant about three miles) where 
 the boats were usually laid up. Fearing this, we made 
 every exertion to leave the island behind us, and went 
 rapidly through the water, forcing the prisoner to take a 
 paddle. In about half an hour, when we had gained, 
 probably, five or six miles to the southward, a large fleet 
 of the flat-bottomed canoes or rafts was seen to emerge 
 from the bay, evidently with the design of pursuit. 
 Presently they put back, despairing to overtake us. 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 WE now found ourselves in the wide and desolate 
 Antarctic Ocean, in a latitude exceeding eighty-four de 
 grees, in a frail canoe, and with no provision but the 
 three turtles. The long Polar winter, too, could not be 
 considered as far distant, and it became necessary that 
 we should deliberate well upon the course to be pursued. 
 There were six or seven islands in sight belonging to 
 the same group, and distant from each other about five 
 or six leagues ; but upon neither of these had we any 
 intention to venture. In coming from the northward in 
 the Jane Guy we had been gradually leaving behind us 
 the severest regions of ice this, however little it may 
 be in accordance with the generally-received notions re 
 specting the Antarctic, was a fact experience would not 
 permit us to deny. To attempt, therefore, getting back, 
 would be folly especially at so late a period of the sea 
 son. Only one course seemed to be left open for hope. 
 We resolved to steer boldly to the southward, where 
 there was at least a probability of discovering other 
 lands, and more than a probability of finding a still 
 milder climate. 
 
 So far we had found the Antarctic, like the Arctic 
 Ocean, peculiarly free from violent storms or immoder 
 ately rough water ; but our canoe was, at best, of frail 
 structure, although large, and we set busily to work with 
 a view of rendering her as safe as the limited means in 
 our possession would admit. The body of the boat was 
 of no better material than bark the bark of a tree un 
 known. The ribs were of a tough osier, well adapted 
 to the purpose for which it was used. We had fifty feet 
 room from stem to stern, from four to six in breadth, 
 and in depth throughout four feet and a half the boats 
 thus differing vastly in shape from those of any other in 
 habitants of the Southern Ocean with whom civilized na 
 il 
 
194 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 tions are acquainted. We never did believe them the 
 workmanship of the ignorant islanders who owned them; 
 and some days after this period discovered, by question 
 ing our captive, that they were in fact made by the na 
 tives of a group to the southwest of the country where 
 we found them, having fallen accidentally into the hands 
 of our barbarians. What we could do for the security 
 of our boat was very little indeed. Several wide rents 
 were discovered near both ends, and these we contrived 
 to patch up with pieces of woollen jacket. With the 
 help of the superfluous paddles, of which there were a 
 great many, we erected a kind of framework about the 
 bow, so as to break the force of any seas which might 
 threaten to fill us in that quarter. We also set up two 
 paddle-blades for masts, placing them opposite each 
 other, one by each gunwale, thus saving the necessity 
 of a yard. To these masts we attached a sail made of 
 our shirts doing this with some difficulty, as here we 
 could get no assistance from our prisoner whatever, al 
 though he had been willing enough to labour in all the 
 other operations. The sight of the linen seemed to affect 
 him in a very singular manner. He could not be prevailed 
 upon to touch it or go near it, shuddering when we at 
 tempted to force him, and shrieking out Tekeli-li ! 
 
 Having completed our arrangements in regard to the 
 security of the canoe, we now set sail to the south south 
 east for the present, with the view of weathering the 
 most southerly of the group in sight. This being done, 
 we turned the bow full to the southward. The weather 
 could by no means be considered disagreeable. We had 
 a prevailing and very gentle wind from the northward, a 
 smooth sea, and continual daylight. No ice whatever 
 was to be seen ; nor did I ever see one particle of this 
 after leaving the parallel of Bennett's Islet. Indeed, the 
 temperature of the water was here far too warm for its 
 existence in any quantity. Having killed the largest of 
 our tortoises, and obtained from him not only food, but 
 a copious supply of water, we continued on our course, 
 without any incident of moment, for perhaps seven or 
 eight days, during which period we must have proceeded 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 195 
 
 a vast distance to the southward, as the wind blew con 
 stantly with us, and a very strong current set continually 
 in the direction we were pursuing. 
 
 March 1.* Many unusual phenomena now indicated 
 that we were entering upon a region of novelty and 
 wonder. A high range of light gray vapour appeared 
 constantly in the southern horizon, flaring up occasionally 
 in lofty streaks, now darting from east to west, now from 
 west to east, and again presenting a level and uniform 
 summit in short, having all the wild variations of the 
 Aurora Borealis. The average height of this vapour, as 
 apparent from our station, was about twenty-five de 
 grees. The temperature of the sea seemed to be in 
 creasing momentarily, and there was a very perceptible 
 alteration in its colour. 
 
 March 2. To-day, by repeated questioning of our cap 
 tive, we came to the knowledge of many particulars in 
 regard to the island of the massacre, its inhabitants, and 
 customs but with these how can I now detain the 
 reader 1 I may say, however, that we learned there 
 were eight islands in the group that they were gov 
 erned by a common king, named Tsalemon or Psalemoun, 
 who resided in one of the smallest of the islands that 
 the black skins forming the dress of the warriors came 
 from an animal of huge size to be found only in a valley 
 near the court of the king that the inhabitants of the 
 group fabricated no other boats than the flat-bottomed 
 rafts ; the four canoes being all of the kind in their pos 
 session, and these having been obtained, by mere acci 
 dent, from some large island to the southwest that his 
 own name was Nu-Nu that he had no knowledge of 
 Bennett's Islet and that the appellation of the island 
 we had left was TsalaL The commencement of the 
 words Tsalemon and Tsalal was given with a prolonged 
 hissing sound, which we found it impossible to imitate, 
 even after repeated endeavours, and which was precisely 
 
 * For obvious reasons I cannot pretend to strict accuracy in these 
 dates. They are given principally with a view to perspicuity of nar 
 ration, and as set down in my pencil memoranda. 
 
196 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the same with the note of the black bittern we had eaten 
 upon the summit of the hill. 
 
 March 3. The heat of the water was now truly re 
 markable, and its colour was undergoing a rapid change, 
 being no longer transparent, but of a milky consistency 
 and hue. In our immediate vicinity it was usually 
 smooth, never so rough as to endanger the canoe but 
 we were frequently surprised at perceiving, to out right 
 and left, at different distances, sudden and extensive agi 
 tations of the surface these, we at length noticed, were 
 always preceded by wild flickerings in the region of va 
 pour to the southward. 
 
 March 4. To-day, with the view of widening our sail, 
 the breeze from the northward dying away perceptibly, I 
 took from my coat-pocket a white handkerchief. Nu-Nu 
 was seated at my elbow, and the linen accidentally fla 
 ring in his face, he became violently affected with con 
 vulsions. These were succeeded by drowsiness and 
 stupor, and low murmurings of Tekeli-li ! Tekeli-li ! 
 
 March 5. The wind had entirely ceased, but it was 
 evident that we were still hurrying on to the southward, 
 under the influence of a powerful current. And now, 
 indeed, it would seem reasonable that we should experi 
 ence some alarm at the turn events were taking but we 
 felt none. The countenance of Peters indicated nothing 
 of this nature, although it wore at times an expression I 
 could not fathom. The Polar winter appeared to be 
 coming on but coming without its terrors. I felt a 
 numbness of body and mind a dreaminess of sensation 
 but this was all. 
 
 March 6. The gray vapour had now arisen many more 
 degrees above the horizon, and was gradually losing its 
 grayness of tint. The heat of the water was extreme, 
 even unpleasant to the touch, and its milky hue was more 
 evident than ever. To-day a violent agitation of the 
 water occurred very close to the canoe. It was attended, 
 as .usual, with a wild flaring up of the vapour at its sum 
 mit, and a momentary division at its base. A fine white 
 powder, resembling ashes but certainly not such fell 
 over the canoe and over a large surface of the water, as 
 
A. GORDON PYM. 197 
 
 the flickering died away among the vapour and the com 
 motion subsided in the sea. Nu-Nu now threw himself 
 on his face in the bottom of the boat, and no persuasions 
 could induce him to arise. 
 
 March 7. This day we questioned Nu-Nu concerning 
 the motives of his countrymen in destroying our compan 
 ions ; but he appeared to be too utterly overcome by 
 terror to afford us any rational reply. He still obsti 
 nately lay in the bottom of the boat ; and, upon our reiter 
 ating the questions as to the motive, made use only of 
 idiotic gesticulations, such as raising with his forefinger 
 the upper lip, and displaying the teeth which lay beneath 
 it. These were black. We had never before seen the 
 teeth of an inhabitant of Tsalal. 
 
 March 8. To-day there floated by us one of the white 
 animals whose appearance upon the beach at Tsalal had 
 occasioned so wild a commotion among the savages. I 
 would have picked it up, but there came over me a sud 
 den listlessness, and I forbore. The heat of the water 
 still increased, and the hand could no longer be endured 
 within it. Peters spoke little, and I knew not what to 
 think of his apathy. Nu-Nu breathed, and no more. 
 
 March 9. The white ashy material fell now continually 
 around us, and in vast quantities. The range of vapour 
 to the southward had arisen prodigiously in the horizon, 
 and began to assume more distinctness of form. I can 
 liken it to nothing but a limitless cataract, rolling silently 
 into the sea from some immense and far-distant rampart 
 in the heaven. The gigantic curtain ranged along the 
 whole extent of the southern horizon. It emitted no 
 sound. 
 
 March 21. A sullen darkness now hovered above us 
 but from out the milky depths of the ocean a luminous 
 glare arose, and stole up along the bulwarks of the boat. 
 We were nearly overwhelmed by the white ashy shower 
 which settled upon us and upon the canoe, but melted 
 into the water as it fell. The summit of the cataract 
 was utterly 'lost in the dimness and the distance. Yet 
 we were evidently approaching it with a hideous velocity. 
 At intervals there were visible in it wide, yawning, but 
 R2 
 
198 NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM. 
 
 momentary rents, and from out these rents, within which 
 was a chaos of flitting and indistinct images, there came 
 rushing and mighty, but soundless winds, tearing up the 
 enkindled ocean in their course. 
 
 March 22. The darkness had materially increased, re 
 lieved only by the glare of the water thrown back from 
 the white curtain before us. Many gigantic and pallidly 
 white birds flew continuously now from beyond the veil, and 
 their scream was the eternal Tekeli-li ! as they retreated 
 from our vision. Hereupon Nu-Nu stirred in the bottom 
 of the boat ; but, upon touching him, we found his spirit 
 departed. And now we rushed into the embraces of the 
 cataract, where a chasm threw itself open to receive us. 
 But there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, 
 very far larger in its proportions than any dweller among 
 men. And the hue of the skin of the figure was of the 
 perfect whiteness of the snow. 
 
 f 
 
 
NOTE. 
 
 THE circumstances connected with the late sudden and distres 
 sing death of Mr. Pym are already well known to the public 
 through the medium of the daily press. It is feared that the few 
 remaining chapters which were to have completed his narrative, and 
 which were retained by him, while the above were in type, for the 
 purpose of revision, have been irrecoverably lost through the ac 
 cident by which he perished himself. This, however, may prove not 
 to be the case, and the papers, if ultimately found, will be given to 
 the public. 
 
 No means have been left untried to remedy the deficiency. The 
 gentleman whose name is mentioned in the preface, and who, from 
 the statement there made, might be supposed able to fill the vacuum, 
 has declined the task this for satisfactory reasons connected with 
 the general inaccuracy of the details afforded him, and his disbelief 
 in the entire truth of the latter portions of the narration. Peters, 
 from whom some information might be expected, is still alive, and a 
 resident of Illinois, but cannot be met with at present. He may 
 hereafter be found, and will, no doubt, afford material for a conclusion 
 of Mr. Pym's account. 
 
 The loss of the two or three final chapters (for there were but two 
 or three) is the more deeply to be regretted, as, it cannot be doubted, 
 they contained matter relative to the Pole itself, or at least to re 
 gions in its very near proximity ; and as, too, the statements of the 
 author in relation to these regions may shortly be verified or contra 
 dicted by means of the governmental expedition now preparing for 
 the Southern Ocean. 
 
 On one point in the Narrative some remarks may be well offered ; 
 and it would afford the writer of this appendix much pleasure if 
 what he may here observe should have a tendency to throw credit, 
 in any degree, upon the very singular pages now published. We 
 allude to the chasms found in the island of Tsalal, and to the whole 
 of the figures upon pages 182, 183, 184, 185. 
 
200 NOTE. 
 
 Mr. Pym has given the figures of the chasms without comment, 
 and speaks decidedly of the indentures found at the extremity of the 
 most easterly of these chasms as having but a fanciful resemblance 
 to alphabetical characters, and, in short, as being positively not such. 
 This assertion is made in a manner so simple, and sustained by a 
 species of demonstration so conclusive (viz., the fitting of the pro 
 jections of the fragments found among the dust into the indentures 
 upon the wall), that we are forced to believe the writer in earnest ; 
 and no reasonable reader should suppose otherwise. But as the 
 facts in relation to all the figures are most singular (especially 
 when taken in connexion with statements made in the body of 
 the narrative), it may be as well to say a word or two concerning 
 them all this, too, the more especially as the facts in question have, 
 beyond doubt, escaped the attention of Mr. Poe. 
 
 Figure 1, then, figure 2, figure 3, and figure 5, when conjoined 
 with one another in the precise order which the chasms themselves 
 presented, and when deprived of the small lateral branches or arches 
 (which, it will be remembered, served only as means of communica 
 tion between the main chambers, and were of totally distinct char 
 acter), constitute an Ethiopian verbal root the root ^ ^N^^t 
 " To be shady" whence all the inflections of shadow or darkness. 
 
 In regard to the " left or most northwardly" of the indentures in 
 figure 4, it is more than probable that the opinion of Peters was cor 
 rect, and that the hieroglyphical appearance was /really the work of 
 art, and intended as the representation of a human form. The de 
 lineation is before the reader, and he may, or may not, perceive the 
 resemblance suggested ; but the rest of the indentures afford strong 
 confirmation of Peters's idea. The upper range is evidently the 
 Arabic verbal root ^y^IZT- AO " To be white," whence all the in 
 flections of brilliancy and whiteness. The lower range is not so im 
 mediately perspicuous. The characters are somewhat broken and dis 
 jointed ; nevertheless, it cannot be doubted that, in their perfect state, 
 they formed the full Egyptian word II &U YPHCS " The 
 region of the south." It should be observed that these interpreta 
 tions confirm the opinion of Peters in regard to the " most north 
 wardly" of the figures. The arm is outstretched towards the south. 
 
 Conclusions such as these open a wide field for speculation and 
 exciting conjecture. They should be regarded, perhaps, in connex 
 ion with some of the most faintly-detailed incidents of the narrative ; 
 although in no visible manner is this chain of connexion complete. 
 Tekeli-li ! was the cry of the affrighted natives of Tsalal upon dis 
 covering the carcass of the white animal picked up at sea. This also 
 was the shuddering exclamation of the captive Tsalalian upon en- 
 
NOTE. 201 
 
 countering the white materials in possession of Mr. Pyrn. This also 
 was the shriek of the swift-flying, white, and gigantic birds which is 
 sued from the vapoury white curtain of the South. Nothing white 
 was to be found at Tsalal, and nothing otherwise in the subsequent 
 voyage to the region beyond. It is not impossible that " Tsalal," the 
 appellation of the island of the chasms, may be found, upon minute 
 philological scrutiny, to betray either some alliance with the chasms 
 themselves, or some reference to the Ethiopian characters so mys 
 teriously written in their windings. 
 
 "/ have graven it within the hills, and my vengeance upon the dust 
 within the rock." 
 
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