Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager: With an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia from the year 1740 till their arrival in England 1746Byron, John
History
Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager: With an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia from the year 1740 till their arrival in England 1746
Byron, John
Chiloé (Chile); Patagonia (Argentina and Chile); Wager (Ship)
We now again proceeded on our voyage, having received on board the
family of our guide, who conducted us to a river, the stream of which
was so rapid, that after our utmost efforts from morning to evening, we
gained little upon the current, and at last were obliged to desist from
our attempt and return. I had hitherto steered the boat; but one of our
men sinking under the fatigue, expired soon after, which obliged me to
take the oar in his room, and row against this heart-breaking stream.
Whilst I was thus employed, one of our men whose name was John Bosman,
though hitherto the stoutest man among us, fell from his seat under
the thwarts, complaining that his strength was quite exhausted for
want of food, and that he should die very shortly. As he lay in this
condition, he would every now and then break out in the most pathetic
wishes for some little sustenance; that two or three mouthfuls might be
the means of saving his life. The Captain, at this time, had a large
piece of boiled seal by him, and was the only one that was provided
with any thing like a meal; but we were become so hardened against the
impressions of others' sufferings by our own; so familiarized to scenes
of this, and every other kind of misery; that the poor man's dying
entreaties were vain. I sat next to him when he dropped, and having a
few dried shell-fish (about five or six) in my pocket, from time to
time put one in his mouth, which served only to prolong his pains; from
which, however, soon after my little supply failed, he was released
by death. For this, and another man I mentioned a little before to
have expired under the like circumstances, when we returned from this
unsuccessful enterprise, we made a grave in the sands.
It would have redounded greatly to the tenderness and humanity of
Captain Cheap, if at this time he had remitted somewhat of that
attention he shewed to self-preservation; which is hardly allowable
but where the consequence of relieving others must be immediately
and manifestly fatal to ourselves; but I would venture to affirm,
that in these last affecting exigencies, as well as some others, a
sparing perhaps adequate to the emergency, might have been admitted
consistently with a due regard to his own necessities. The Captain had
better opportunities for recruiting his stock than any of us; for his
rank was considered by the Indian as a reason for supplying him when he
would not find a bit for us. Upon the evening of the day in which these
disasters happened, the Captain producing a large piece of boiled seal,
suffered no one to partake with him but the surgeon, who was the only
man in favour at this time. We did not expect, indeed, any relief from
him in our present condition; for we had a few small muscles and herbs
to eat; but the men could not help expressing the greatest indignation
at his neglect of the deceased; saying that he deserved to be deserted
by the rest for his savage behaviour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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