The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym 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.Poe, Edgar Allan
General
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym 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.
Poe, Edgar Allan
Sea stories; Stowaways -- Fiction; Whaling ships -- Fiction; Young men -- Fiction
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 woollen 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 sufficiently 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 place 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, although 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 derived 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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