Poe, Edgar Allen - The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe

by Volume 01-05 (lit)

  he now resolved 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.

  ~~~ End of Text of Chapter 5 ~~~

  CHAPTER 6

  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 detested 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 reconnoiter. 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 determined 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 instrumental in saving my life, without some attempt

  at preserving 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 advantages of breathing an atmosphere comparatively

  pure.

  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 per formed 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 experienced 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 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 accomplished by means

  of a screw. Thus, in a load of tobacco 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 instances, indeed,

  where this method of screwing has resulted 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

  example, 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 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 precautions should be always

  taken to guard against such misfortune. 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 bead 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 every thing

  in its place. In cargoes consisting of grain, or any similar matter,

  additional precautions are requisite. A hold filled entirely with

  grain upon leaving port will be found not more than three fourths

  full upon reaching its destination -- this, too, although the

  freight, 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 perceptible in proportion to the roughness of

  the weather experienced. 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 passag
e so greatly as to bring about the

  most distressing calamities. To prevent 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 precaution whatever. The wonder is that no more

  accidents 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 Firefly, 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, although he

  was in the habit of paying no attention whatever to his stowage, more

  than to secure it in the ordinary 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. Toward night the gale somewhat

  abated, and she rolled with more unsteadiness than before, but still

  did very well, 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 hatchway. The vessel went down like a

  shot. This happened 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 jolly boat 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 {*1} and ship furniture. I

  have already spoken of the condition of articles in the hold. On the

  orlop deck there was space enough for my body (as I have stated)

  between 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 talked 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 every thing 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 aperture, 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 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

  occasionally 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 occupied 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,

  indeed, it was difficult to say if be 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' 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 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 deleterious 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

  thirteenth since the Grampus made sad from Nantucket.

  On the second of July the mate came below drunk as usual, and in

  an excessively good-humor. 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 be 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, during the day. Tiger took his station in the

  berth just by the aperture, and slept heavily, as if not yet entirely

  recovered from the effects of his sickness. Toward 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 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 region. He asked him whether be 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 any thing 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 unmolested. Augustus spent most of

  his time on deck, with a view of obtaining all the information in his

  power respecting the intentions of the mutineers. They had frequent

  and violent quarrels among themselves, in one of which a harpooner,

  Jim Bonner, was thrown overboard. The party of the mate was gaining