University of Virginia Library

8. 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 recollection
of the terrific reality which I was thus representing,
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 companion-way.
It was only partially closed, precautions having
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

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 carousing,
as appeared from two empty jugs, with some tin
tumblers which lay about, they were not as much intoxicated
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 before
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 Rogers.
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 possible,
get the schooner herself into their possession preparatory
to some attempt on a large scale, the particulars
of which could not be made out by either of us.

One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate replied
to him in a low voice which could not be distinguished,
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 excessively
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.

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 mattress
to go for us, when a tremendous lurch, which I
thought would carry away the masts, threw him headlong
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 position,
and we had time to make a precipitate retreat to
the forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan of action before
the messenger made his appearance, or rather before
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. Peters
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 received
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-handles,
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

have a good view of all that was passing within, and endeavoured
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 superstitions
which are so universally current among 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 imploring
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 excitement.
Peters now made me the signal. I immediately
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 circumstances
are taken into consideration. Usually, in cases
of a similar nature, there is left in the mind of the spectator
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

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 revivification
of his disgusting corpse, or at least its spiritual
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 suspecting
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 familiar
in their eyes to permit the notion that he was the apparition
before them to enter their minds even for an instant.
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 excellence
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 pitiable
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;
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 Augustus
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 perhaps
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 Peters,
might have ultimately got the better of us. These
three men were—Jones, — Greely, and Absalom
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 depended.
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, however,
was now too much injured to render us any
aid whatever, and I was so encumbered with my disguise
that I could do but little. The dog would not
leave his hold upon the throat of Jones—Peters, nevertheless,
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 discharging
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, strangled
him instantaneously. Thus, in far less time than
I have taken to tell it, we found ourselves masters of the
brig.

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 motionless
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 otherwise
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 between
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 effect
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 constantly

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 having
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 assistance
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 capsizing.
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 bleeding
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.

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 foremast
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 starboard
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 disappointed,
for it only lulled for a few minutes to blow with
redoubled fury. About four in the afternoon it was utterly
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 sea 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 entirely
through it, being clinched on the inside, were
drawn every one of them completely out of the solid
wood.

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.