August 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Owen Chase (October 7, 1797 – March 7, 1869) served as the First Mate of the ill-fated whale ship Essex, which met a tragic fate when it was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale on October 28, 1820. In the aftermath, Chase penned the gripping account titled Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, published in 1821. This harrowing tale not only chronicles the desperate survival of the crew but also served as a profound inspiration for Herman Melvilles iconic novel, Moby-Dick. (Summary from Wikipedia)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section six of the Shipwreck of the whale ship Essex
by Owen Chase. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Recording by Phil schamph Chapter three, part three December first
to the fourteenth December first. From the first to the
third of December exclusive, there was nothing transpired of any moment.
(00:26):
Our boats as yet kept admirably well together, and the
weather was distinguished for its mildness and salubrity. We gathered
Consolation two from a favorable slant which the wind took
to the northeast, and our situation was not at that
moment we thought so comfortless, as we had been led
at first to consider it. But in our extravagant felicitations
(00:49):
upon the blessing of the wind and weather, we forgot
our leaks and our weak boats, and our own debility,
our immense distance from land, the smallness of our stock
of prevails, all which, when brought to mind with the
force which they deserved, were too well calculated to dishearten
us and cause us to sigh for the hardships of
(01:10):
our lot. Up to the third of December, the raging
thirst of our mouths had not been but in a
small degree alleviated. Had it not been for the pains
which that gave us, we should have tasted during this
spell of fine weather a species of enjoyment derived from
a momentary forgetfulness of our actual situation. December third, with
(01:34):
great joy, we hailed the last crumb of our damaged
bread and commenced this day to take our allowance of
healthy provisions. The salutary and agreeable effects of this change
were felt, at first in so slight a degree as
to give us no great cause of comfort or satisfaction.
But gradually, as we partook our small allowance of water,
(01:56):
the moisture began to collect in our mouths, and the
parching fever of the palate imperceptibly left it. An accident
here happened to us, which gave us a great momentary
spell of uneasiness. The night was dark and the sky
was completely overcast, so that we could scarcely discern each
other's boats. When at about ten o'clock that of the
(02:18):
second mate was suddenly missing. I felt for a moment
considerable alarm at her unexpected disappearance, But after a little
reflection I immediately hove too, struck a light as expeditiously
as possible, and hoisted it at the mast head in
a lantern. Our eyes were now directed over every part
of the ocean in search of her, when, to our
(02:40):
great joy we discerned in answering light about a quarter
mile to leeward of us. We ran down to it,
and it proved to be the lost boat. Strange as
the extraordinary interests which we felt in each other's company
may appear, and much as our repugnance to separation may
seem to imply of weakness, it was the subject of
(03:01):
our continual hopes and fears. It is truly remarked that misfortune,
more than anything else, serves to endear us to our companions.
So strongly was this sentiment engrafted upon our feelings, and
so closely were the destinies of all of us involuntarily
linked together, that had one of the boats been wrecked
(03:22):
and wholly lost with all her provisions and water, we
should have felt ourselves constrained by every tie of humanity
to have taken the surviving sufferers into the other boats
and shared our bread and water with them, while a
crumb of one or a drop of the other remained hard. Indeed,
would the case have been for all, and much as
(03:43):
I have since reflected on the subject, I have not
been able to realize had it so happened that a
sense of our necessities would have allowed us to give
so magnanimous and devoted a character to our feelings, I
can only speak of the impressions which I recollect I
had at the time. Subsequently, however, as our situation became
(04:04):
more straightened and desperate, our conversation on this subject took
a different turn, and it appeared to be an universal
sentiment that such a course of conduct was calculated to
weaken the chances of a final deliverance of some and
might be the only means of consigning every soul of
us to a horrid death of starvation. There is no
(04:26):
question but that an immediate separation, therefore was the most
politic measure that could be adopted, and that every boat
should take its own separate chance while we remained together.
Should any accident happen of the nature alluded to, no
other course could be adopted than that of taking the
survivors into the other boats and giving up voluntarily. What
(04:49):
we were satisfied could alone prolong our hopes and multiply
the chances of our safety, or unconcernedly witness their struggles
in death, perhaps beat them from our book with weapons
back into the ocean. The expectation of reaching the land
was founded upon a reasonable calculation of the distance, the means,
and the subsistence, all which were scanty enough, God knows,
(05:13):
and ill adapted to the probable exigencies of the voyage.
Any addition to our own demands in this respect would
not only injure, but actually destroy the whole system which
we had laid down, and reduce us to slight hope,
derived either from the speedy death of some of our
crew or the falling in with some vessel. With all this, however,
(05:34):
there was a desperate instinct that bound us together. We
could not reason on the subject with any degree of
satisfaction to our minds, yet we continued to cling to
each other with a strong and involuntary impulse. This, indeed,
was a matter of no small difficulty, and it constituted,
more than anything else, a source of continual watching and inquietude.
(05:58):
We would but turn our eyes away way for a
few moments during some dark nights, and presently one of
the boats would be missing. There was no other remedy
than to heave too immediately and set alight by which
the missing boat might be directed to us. These proceedings
necessarily interfered very much with our speed and consequently lessened
(06:19):
our hopes, but we preferred to submit to it while
the consequences were not so immediately felt, rather than part
with the consolation which each other's presence afforded. Nothing of
importance took place on the fourth of December, and on
the fifth, at night, owing to the extreme darkness and
a strong wind, I again separated from the other boats.
(06:42):
Finding they were not to be seen in any direction,
I loaded my pistol and fired it twice. Soon after
the second discharge, they made their appearance a short distance
to windward, and we joined company and again kept on
our course, in which we continued without any remarkable occurrence
through the sixth and the seventh of December. The wind
(07:02):
during this period blew very strong and much more unfavorably.
Our boats continued to leak and to take in a
good deal of water over the Gunwals. December eighth, in
the afternoon of this day, the wind set in east
southeast and began to blow much harder than we had
yet experienced. It By twelve o'clock at night, it had
(07:25):
increased to a perfect gale with heavy showers of rain,
and we now began, from these dreadful indications to prepare
ourselves for destruction. We continued to take in sail by
degrees as the tempest gradually increased, until at last we
were obliged to take down our masts. At this juncture
we gave up entirely to the mercy of the waves.
(07:48):
The sea and rain had wet us to the skin,
and we sat down silently and with sullen resignation, awaiting
our fate. We made an effort to catch some fresh
water by spreading one of the sails, but after having
spent a long time and obtained but a small quantity
in a bucket, it proved to be quite as salt
as that from the ocean. This we attributed to its
(08:11):
having passed through the sail which had been so often
wet by the sea, and upon which, after drying so
frequently in the sun, concretions of salt had been formed.
It was a dreadful night, cut off from any imaginary relief,
nothing remained but to await the approaching issue with firmness
and resignation. The appearance of the heavens was dark and dreary,
(08:34):
and the blackness that was spread over the face of
the waters dismal beyond description. The heavy squalls that followed
each other in quick succession were preceded by sharp flashes
of lightning that appeared to wrap our little barge in flames.
The sea rose to a fearful height, and every wave
that came looked as if it must be the last
(08:56):
that would be necessary for our destruction. To an overruling providence.
Alone must be attributed our salvation from the wars of
that terrible night. It can be accounted for in no
other way that a speck of substance like that which
we were before the driving tears of the tempest could
have been conducted safely through it. At twelve o'clock it
(09:20):
began to abate a little, in intervals of two or
three minutes, during which we would venture to raise up
our heads and look to windward. Our boat was completely
unmanageable without sails, mast or rudder, and had been driven
in the course of the afternoon and night. We knew
not whither nor how far. When the gale had in
(09:40):
some measure subsided, we made efforts to get a little
sail upon her and put her head towards the course
we had been steering. My companions had not slept any
during the whole night, and were dispirited and broken down
to such a degree as to appear to want some
more powerful stimulus than the fears of death, to anable
them to do their duty by great exertions. However, towards
(10:04):
morning we again set a double reefed mainsail and jib
upon her, and began to make tolerable progress on the voyage.
An unaccountable good fortune had kept the boats together during
all the troubles of the night, and the sun rose
and showed the disconsolate faces of our companions once more
to each other. December ninth. By twelve o'clock this day,
(10:27):
we were enabled to set all sail as usual, but
there continued to be a very heavy sea running, which
opened the seams of the boats and increase the leaks
to an alarming degree. There was, however, no remedy for this,
but continual bailing, which had now become to be an
extremely irksome and laborious task. By observation, we found ourselves
(10:49):
in latitude of seventeen degrees forty minutes south. At eleven
o'clock at night, the captain's boat was unexpectedly found to
be missing. After the last accident for this kind, we
had agreed, if the same should again occur, that in
order to save our time, the other boats should not
heave two as usual, but continue on their course until morning,
(11:12):
and thereby save the great detention that must arise from
such repeated delays. We however, concluded, on this occasion to
make a small effort, which, if it did not immediately
prove the means of restoring the lost boat, we would
discontinue and again make sail. Accordingly, we hove to for
an hour, during which time I fired my pistol twice,
(11:35):
and obtaining no tidings of the boat, we stood on
our course. When daylight appeared, she was to leeward of us,
about two miles. Upon observing her, we immediately ran down
and again joined company. December tenth, I have omitted to
notice a gradual advances which hunger and thirst for the
(11:56):
last six days had made upon us, as the time
at lengthened since our departure from the wreck, and the
allowance of provisions making the demands of the appetite daily
more and more importunate. They had created in us an
almost uncontrollable temptation to violate our resolution and satisfy for
once the hard yearnings of nature from our stock. But
(12:19):
a little reflection served to convince us of the imprudence
and unmanliness of the measure, and it was abandoned with
a sort of melancholy effort of satisfaction. I had taken
into custody, by common consent all the provisions in water
belonging to the boat, and was determined that no encroachments
should be made upon it with my consent. Nay, I
(12:40):
felt myself bound by every consideration of duty, by every
dictate of sense of prudence and discretion, without which, in
my situation, all other exertions would have been folly itself.
To protect them at the hazard of my life. For
this purpose I locked up in my chest the whole quantity,
(13:01):
and never for a single moment closed my eyes without
placing some part of my person in contact with the chest,
and having loaded my pistol, kept it constantly about me.
I should not certainly have put any threats in execution,
as long as the most distant hopes of reconciliation existed,
and was determined in case the least refractory disposition should
(13:25):
be manifested, a thing which I contemplated not unlikely to
happen with a set of starving wretches like ourselves, that
I would immediately divide our subsistence into equal proportions and
give each man's share into his own keeping. Then, should
any attempt be made upon mine, which I intended to
mete out to myself, according to exigencies, I was resolved
(13:48):
to make the consequences of its fatal. There was, however,
the most upright and obedient behavior in this respect manifested
by every man in the boat, and I never had
the least opportunity of proving what my conduct would have
been on such an occasion. While standing on our course
this day, we came across a small shoal of flying fish,
(14:10):
four of which, in their efforts to avoid us, flew
against the mainsail and dropped into the boat. One, having
fell near me, I eagerly snatched up and devoured. The
other three were immediately taken by the rest and eaten alive.
For the first time, I, on this occasion felt a
disposition to laugh upon witnessing the ludicrous and almost desperate
(14:31):
efforts of my five companions, who each sought to get
a fish. They were very small of the kind and
constituted but an extremely delicate mouthful scales, wings, and awe
for hungry stomachs like ours. From the eleventh to the
thirteenth of December inclusive, our progress was very slow, owing
(14:51):
to the light winds and calms, and nothing transpired of
any moment, except that on the eleventh we killed the
only remaining turtle and enjoyed another luxuriant repast that invigorated
our bodies and gave a fresh flow to our spirits.
The weather was extremely hot, and we were exposed to
the full force of the meridian sun, without any covering
(15:15):
to shield us from its burning influence or the least
breath of air to cool its parching rays. On the
thirteenth day of December, we were blessed with a change
of wind to the northward that brought us a most
welcome and unlooked for relief. We now for the first time,
actually felt what might be deemed a reasonable hope of
(15:35):
our deliverance, and with hearts bounding with satisfaction, and bosoms.
Swelling with joy, we made all sail to the eastward.
We imagined we had run out of the trade winds
and had got into the variables, and should, in all
probability reach the land many days sooner than we expected.
But alas our anticipations were but a dream, from which
(15:58):
we shortly experience against a cruel awaking. The wind gradually
died away, and at night was succeeded by a perfect calm,
more oppressive and disheartening to us from the bright prospects
which had attended us during the day. The gloomy reflections
that this hard fortune had given birth to were succeeded
by others of a no less cruel than discouraging nature.
(16:22):
When we found the calm continued during the fourteenth, fifteenth
and sixteenth of December inclusive. The extreme oppression of the weather,
the sudden and unexpected prostration of our hopes, and the
consequent objection of our spirits set us again to thinking
and filled our souls with fearful and melancholy forebodings. In
(16:43):
this state of affairs, seeing no alternative left us but
to employ to the best advantage all human expedients in
our power, I proposed on the fourteenth to reduce our
allowance of provisions one half. No objections were made to
this arrangement. All submitted or seemed to do so with
an admirable fortitude and forbearance. The proportion which our stock
(17:07):
of water bore to our bread was not large, and
while the weather continued so oppressive, we did not think
it advisable to diminish our scanty pittance. Indeed, it would
have been scarcely possible to have done so with any
regard to our necessities, as our thirst had become now
incessantly more intolerable than hunger, and the quantity then allowed
(17:29):
was barely sufficient to keep the mouth in a state
of moisture for about one third of the time. Patience
and long suffering was the constant language of our lips,
and a determination strong as the resolves of the soul
could make it to cling to existence. As long as
hope and breath remained to us in vain, was every
(17:50):
expedient try to relieve the raging fever of the throat
by drinking salt water and holding small quantities of it
in the mouth, until by that means the thirst was
increased to such a degree as even to drive us
to despairing and vain relief from our own urine. Our
sufferings during these calm days almost exceeded human belief. The
(18:12):
hot rays of the sun beat down upon us to
such a degree as to oblige us to hang over
the gunwale of the boat into the sea to cool
our weak and fainting bodies. This expedient afforded us, however,
a grateful relief, and was productive of a discovery of
infinite importance to us. No sooner had one of us
got on the outside of the gunwale than he immediately
(18:34):
observed the bottom of the boat to be covered with
a species of small clam, which, upon being tasted, proved
to be a most delicious and agreeable food. This was
no sooner announced to us than we commenced to tear
them off and eat them for a few minutes like
a set of gluttons. And after having satisfied the immediate
craving of the stomach, we gathered large quantities and laid
(18:58):
them up in the boat. But hunger came upon us
again in less than half an hour afterwards, within which
time they had all disappeared. Upon attempting to get in again,
we found ourselves so weak as to require each other's assistance. Indeed,
had it not been for three of our crew who
could not swim, and who did not therefore get overboard,
(19:20):
I know not by what means we should have been
able to resume our situations in the boat. End of
Section six.
Section six of the Shipwreck of the whale ship Essex
by Owen Chase. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Recording by Phil schamph Chapter three, part three December first
to the fourteenth December first. From the first to the
third of December exclusive, there was nothing transpired of any moment.
(00:26):
Our boats as yet kept admirably well together, and the
weather was distinguished for its mildness and salubrity. We gathered
Consolation two from a favorable slant which the wind took
to the northeast, and our situation was not at that
moment we thought so comfortless, as we had been led
at first to consider it. But in our extravagant felicitations
(00:49):
upon the blessing of the wind and weather, we forgot
our leaks and our weak boats, and our own debility,
our immense distance from land, the smallness of our stock
of prevails, all which, when brought to mind with the
force which they deserved, were too well calculated to dishearten
us and cause us to sigh for the hardships of
(01:10):
our lot. Up to the third of December, the raging
thirst of our mouths had not been but in a
small degree alleviated. Had it not been for the pains
which that gave us, we should have tasted during this
spell of fine weather a species of enjoyment derived from
a momentary forgetfulness of our actual situation. December third, with
(01:34):
great joy, we hailed the last crumb of our damaged
bread and commenced this day to take our allowance of
healthy provisions. The salutary and agreeable effects of this change
were felt, at first in so slight a degree as
to give us no great cause of comfort or satisfaction.
But gradually, as we partook our small allowance of water,
(01:56):
the moisture began to collect in our mouths, and the
parching fever of the palate imperceptibly left it. An accident
here happened to us, which gave us a great momentary
spell of uneasiness. The night was dark and the sky
was completely overcast, so that we could scarcely discern each
other's boats. When at about ten o'clock that of the
(02:18):
second mate was suddenly missing. I felt for a moment
considerable alarm at her unexpected disappearance, But after a little
reflection I immediately hove too, struck a light as expeditiously
as possible, and hoisted it at the mast head in
a lantern. Our eyes were now directed over every part
of the ocean in search of her, when, to our
(02:40):
great joy we discerned in answering light about a quarter
mile to leeward of us. We ran down to it,
and it proved to be the lost boat. Strange as
the extraordinary interests which we felt in each other's company
may appear, and much as our repugnance to separation may
seem to imply of weakness, it was the subject of
(03:01):
our continual hopes and fears. It is truly remarked that misfortune,
more than anything else, serves to endear us to our companions.
So strongly was this sentiment engrafted upon our feelings, and
so closely were the destinies of all of us involuntarily
linked together, that had one of the boats been wrecked
(03:22):
and wholly lost with all her provisions and water, we
should have felt ourselves constrained by every tie of humanity
to have taken the surviving sufferers into the other boats
and shared our bread and water with them, while a
crumb of one or a drop of the other remained hard. Indeed,
would the case have been for all, and much as
(03:43):
I have since reflected on the subject, I have not
been able to realize had it so happened that a
sense of our necessities would have allowed us to give
so magnanimous and devoted a character to our feelings, I
can only speak of the impressions which I recollect I
had at the time. Subsequently, however, as our situation became
(04:04):
more straightened and desperate, our conversation on this subject took
a different turn, and it appeared to be an universal
sentiment that such a course of conduct was calculated to
weaken the chances of a final deliverance of some and
might be the only means of consigning every soul of
us to a horrid death of starvation. There is no
(04:26):
question but that an immediate separation, therefore was the most
politic measure that could be adopted, and that every boat
should take its own separate chance while we remained together.
Should any accident happen of the nature alluded to, no
other course could be adopted than that of taking the
survivors into the other boats and giving up voluntarily. What
(04:49):
we were satisfied could alone prolong our hopes and multiply
the chances of our safety, or unconcernedly witness their struggles
in death, perhaps beat them from our book with weapons
back into the ocean. The expectation of reaching the land
was founded upon a reasonable calculation of the distance, the means,
and the subsistence, all which were scanty enough, God knows,
(05:13):
and ill adapted to the probable exigencies of the voyage.
Any addition to our own demands in this respect would
not only injure, but actually destroy the whole system which
we had laid down, and reduce us to slight hope,
derived either from the speedy death of some of our
crew or the falling in with some vessel. With all this, however,
(05:34):
there was a desperate instinct that bound us together. We
could not reason on the subject with any degree of
satisfaction to our minds, yet we continued to cling to
each other with a strong and involuntary impulse. This, indeed,
was a matter of no small difficulty, and it constituted,
more than anything else, a source of continual watching and inquietude.
(05:58):
We would but turn our eyes away way for a
few moments during some dark nights, and presently one of
the boats would be missing. There was no other remedy
than to heave too immediately and set alight by which
the missing boat might be directed to us. These proceedings
necessarily interfered very much with our speed and consequently lessened
(06:19):
our hopes, but we preferred to submit to it while
the consequences were not so immediately felt, rather than part
with the consolation which each other's presence afforded. Nothing of
importance took place on the fourth of December, and on
the fifth, at night, owing to the extreme darkness and
a strong wind, I again separated from the other boats.
(06:42):
Finding they were not to be seen in any direction,
I loaded my pistol and fired it twice. Soon after
the second discharge, they made their appearance a short distance
to windward, and we joined company and again kept on
our course, in which we continued without any remarkable occurrence
through the sixth and the seventh of December. The wind
(07:02):
during this period blew very strong and much more unfavorably.
Our boats continued to leak and to take in a
good deal of water over the Gunwals. December eighth, in
the afternoon of this day, the wind set in east
southeast and began to blow much harder than we had
yet experienced. It By twelve o'clock at night, it had
(07:25):
increased to a perfect gale with heavy showers of rain,
and we now began, from these dreadful indications to prepare
ourselves for destruction. We continued to take in sail by
degrees as the tempest gradually increased, until at last we
were obliged to take down our masts. At this juncture
we gave up entirely to the mercy of the waves.
(07:48):
The sea and rain had wet us to the skin,
and we sat down silently and with sullen resignation, awaiting
our fate. We made an effort to catch some fresh
water by spreading one of the sails, but after having
spent a long time and obtained but a small quantity
in a bucket, it proved to be quite as salt
as that from the ocean. This we attributed to its
(08:11):
having passed through the sail which had been so often
wet by the sea, and upon which, after drying so
frequently in the sun, concretions of salt had been formed.
It was a dreadful night, cut off from any imaginary relief,
nothing remained but to await the approaching issue with firmness
and resignation. The appearance of the heavens was dark and dreary,
(08:34):
and the blackness that was spread over the face of
the waters dismal beyond description. The heavy squalls that followed
each other in quick succession were preceded by sharp flashes
of lightning that appeared to wrap our little barge in flames.
The sea rose to a fearful height, and every wave
that came looked as if it must be the last
(08:56):
that would be necessary for our destruction. To an overruling providence.
Alone must be attributed our salvation from the wars of
that terrible night. It can be accounted for in no
other way that a speck of substance like that which
we were before the driving tears of the tempest could
have been conducted safely through it. At twelve o'clock it
(09:20):
began to abate a little, in intervals of two or
three minutes, during which we would venture to raise up
our heads and look to windward. Our boat was completely
unmanageable without sails, mast or rudder, and had been driven
in the course of the afternoon and night. We knew
not whither nor how far. When the gale had in
(09:40):
some measure subsided, we made efforts to get a little
sail upon her and put her head towards the course
we had been steering. My companions had not slept any
during the whole night, and were dispirited and broken down
to such a degree as to appear to want some
more powerful stimulus than the fears of death, to anable
them to do their duty by great exertions. However, towards
(10:04):
morning we again set a double reefed mainsail and jib
upon her, and began to make tolerable progress on the voyage.
An unaccountable good fortune had kept the boats together during
all the troubles of the night, and the sun rose
and showed the disconsolate faces of our companions once more
to each other. December ninth. By twelve o'clock this day,
(10:27):
we were enabled to set all sail as usual, but
there continued to be a very heavy sea running, which
opened the seams of the boats and increase the leaks
to an alarming degree. There was, however, no remedy for this,
but continual bailing, which had now become to be an
extremely irksome and laborious task. By observation, we found ourselves
(10:49):
in latitude of seventeen degrees forty minutes south. At eleven
o'clock at night, the captain's boat was unexpectedly found to
be missing. After the last accident for this kind, we
had agreed, if the same should again occur, that in
order to save our time, the other boats should not
heave two as usual, but continue on their course until morning,
(11:12):
and thereby save the great detention that must arise from
such repeated delays. We however, concluded, on this occasion to
make a small effort, which, if it did not immediately
prove the means of restoring the lost boat, we would
discontinue and again make sail. Accordingly, we hove to for
an hour, during which time I fired my pistol twice,
(11:35):
and obtaining no tidings of the boat, we stood on
our course. When daylight appeared, she was to leeward of us,
about two miles. Upon observing her, we immediately ran down
and again joined company. December tenth, I have omitted to
notice a gradual advances which hunger and thirst for the
(11:56):
last six days had made upon us, as the time
at lengthened since our departure from the wreck, and the
allowance of provisions making the demands of the appetite daily
more and more importunate. They had created in us an
almost uncontrollable temptation to violate our resolution and satisfy for
once the hard yearnings of nature from our stock. But
(12:19):
a little reflection served to convince us of the imprudence
and unmanliness of the measure, and it was abandoned with
a sort of melancholy effort of satisfaction. I had taken
into custody, by common consent all the provisions in water
belonging to the boat, and was determined that no encroachments
should be made upon it with my consent. Nay, I
(12:40):
felt myself bound by every consideration of duty, by every
dictate of sense of prudence and discretion, without which, in
my situation, all other exertions would have been folly itself.
To protect them at the hazard of my life. For
this purpose I locked up in my chest the whole quantity,
(13:01):
and never for a single moment closed my eyes without
placing some part of my person in contact with the chest,
and having loaded my pistol, kept it constantly about me.
I should not certainly have put any threats in execution,
as long as the most distant hopes of reconciliation existed,
and was determined in case the least refractory disposition should
(13:25):
be manifested, a thing which I contemplated not unlikely to
happen with a set of starving wretches like ourselves, that
I would immediately divide our subsistence into equal proportions and
give each man's share into his own keeping. Then, should
any attempt be made upon mine, which I intended to
mete out to myself, according to exigencies, I was resolved
(13:48):
to make the consequences of its fatal. There was, however,
the most upright and obedient behavior in this respect manifested
by every man in the boat, and I never had
the least opportunity of proving what my conduct would have
been on such an occasion. While standing on our course
this day, we came across a small shoal of flying fish,
(14:10):
four of which, in their efforts to avoid us, flew
against the mainsail and dropped into the boat. One, having
fell near me, I eagerly snatched up and devoured. The
other three were immediately taken by the rest and eaten alive.
For the first time, I, on this occasion felt a
disposition to laugh upon witnessing the ludicrous and almost desperate
(14:31):
efforts of my five companions, who each sought to get
a fish. They were very small of the kind and
constituted but an extremely delicate mouthful scales, wings, and awe
for hungry stomachs like ours. From the eleventh to the
thirteenth of December inclusive, our progress was very slow, owing
(14:51):
to the light winds and calms, and nothing transpired of
any moment, except that on the eleventh we killed the
only remaining turtle and enjoyed another luxuriant repast that invigorated
our bodies and gave a fresh flow to our spirits.
The weather was extremely hot, and we were exposed to
the full force of the meridian sun, without any covering
(15:15):
to shield us from its burning influence or the least
breath of air to cool its parching rays. On the
thirteenth day of December, we were blessed with a change
of wind to the northward that brought us a most
welcome and unlooked for relief. We now for the first time,
actually felt what might be deemed a reasonable hope of
(15:35):
our deliverance, and with hearts bounding with satisfaction, and bosoms.
Swelling with joy, we made all sail to the eastward.
We imagined we had run out of the trade winds
and had got into the variables, and should, in all
probability reach the land many days sooner than we expected.
But alas our anticipations were but a dream, from which
(15:58):
we shortly experience against a cruel awaking. The wind gradually
died away, and at night was succeeded by a perfect calm,
more oppressive and disheartening to us from the bright prospects
which had attended us during the day. The gloomy reflections
that this hard fortune had given birth to were succeeded
by others of a no less cruel than discouraging nature.
(16:22):
When we found the calm continued during the fourteenth, fifteenth
and sixteenth of December inclusive. The extreme oppression of the weather,
the sudden and unexpected prostration of our hopes, and the
consequent objection of our spirits set us again to thinking
and filled our souls with fearful and melancholy forebodings. In
(16:43):
this state of affairs, seeing no alternative left us but
to employ to the best advantage all human expedients in
our power, I proposed on the fourteenth to reduce our
allowance of provisions one half. No objections were made to
this arrangement. All submitted or seemed to do so with
an admirable fortitude and forbearance. The proportion which our stock
(17:07):
of water bore to our bread was not large, and
while the weather continued so oppressive, we did not think
it advisable to diminish our scanty pittance. Indeed, it would
have been scarcely possible to have done so with any
regard to our necessities, as our thirst had become now
incessantly more intolerable than hunger, and the quantity then allowed
(17:29):
was barely sufficient to keep the mouth in a state
of moisture for about one third of the time. Patience
and long suffering was the constant language of our lips,
and a determination strong as the resolves of the soul
could make it to cling to existence. As long as
hope and breath remained to us in vain, was every
(17:50):
expedient try to relieve the raging fever of the throat
by drinking salt water and holding small quantities of it
in the mouth, until by that means the thirst was
increased to such a degree as even to drive us
to despairing and vain relief from our own urine. Our
sufferings during these calm days almost exceeded human belief. The
(18:12):
hot rays of the sun beat down upon us to
such a degree as to oblige us to hang over
the gunwale of the boat into the sea to cool
our weak and fainting bodies. This expedient afforded us, however,
a grateful relief, and was productive of a discovery of
infinite importance to us. No sooner had one of us
got on the outside of the gunwale than he immediately
(18:34):
observed the bottom of the boat to be covered with
a species of small clam, which, upon being tasted, proved
to be a most delicious and agreeable food. This was
no sooner announced to us than we commenced to tear
them off and eat them for a few minutes like
a set of gluttons. And after having satisfied the immediate
craving of the stomach, we gathered large quantities and laid
(18:58):
them up in the boat. But hunger came upon us
again in less than half an hour afterwards, within which
time they had all disappeared. Upon attempting to get in again,
we found ourselves so weak as to require each other's assistance. Indeed,
had it not been for three of our crew who
could not swim, and who did not therefore get overboard,
(19:20):
I know not by what means we should have been
able to resume our situations in the boat. End of
Section six.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com