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
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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
_August 1._ A continuance of the same calm weather, with an
oppressively hot sun. Suffered exceedingly from thirst, the water in
the jug being absolutely putrid and swarming with vermin. We contrived,
nevertheless, to swallow a portion of it by mixing it with wine--our
thirst, however, was but little abated. We found more relief by bathing
in the sea, but could not avail ourselves of this expedient except at
long intervals, on account of the continual presence of sharks. We now
saw clearly that Augustus could not be saved; that he was evidently
dying. We could do nothing to relieve his sufferings, which appeared to
be great. About twelve o'clock he expired in strong convulsions, and
without having spoken for several hours. His death filled us with the
most gloomy forebodings, and had so great an effect upon our spirits
that we sat motionless by the corpse during the whole day, and never
addressed each other except in a whisper. It was not until some time
after dark that we took courage to get up and throw the body overboard.
It was then loathsome beyond expression, and so far decayed that, as
Peters attempted to lift it, an entire leg came off in his grasp. As
the mass of putrefaction slipped over the vessel's side into the water,
the glare of phosphoric light with which it was surrounded plainly
discovered to us seven or eight large sharks, the clashing of whose
horrible teeth, as their prey was torn to pieces among them, might have
been heard at the distance of a mile. We shrunk within ourselves in the
extremity of horror at the sound.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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