Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy: A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities.Anonymous
History
Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy: A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities.
Anonymous
Mutiny; Pirates; Seafaring life; Shipwrecks
From the delirium of joy, we passed to that of despondency and sorrow.
We envied the fate of those whom we had seen perish at our sides; and
we said to ourselves, 'When we shall be in want of everything, and
when our strength begins to forsake us, we will wrap ourselves up as
well as we can, we will stretch ourselves on this platform, the
witness of the most cruel sufferings, and there await death with
resignation.' At length, to calm our despair, we sought for
consolation in the arm of sleep. The day before, we had been scorched
by the beams of a burning sun: to-day, to avoid the fierceness of his
rays, we made a tent with the main-sail of the frigate. As soon as it
was finished, we laid ourselves under it; thus all that was passing
without was hid from our eyes. We proposed then to write upon a plank
an abridgement of our adventures, and to add our names at the bottom
of the recital, and fix it to the upper part of the mast, in the hope
it would reach the government and our families.
After having passed two hours, a prey to the most cruel reflections,
the master gunner of the frigate, wishing to go to the front of the
raft, went out from below the tent. Scarcely had he put out his head,
when he turned to us, uttering a piercing cry. Joy was painted upon
his face; his hands were stretched towards the sea; he breathed with
difficulty. All he was able to say was; 'SAVED! SEE THE BRIG UPON US!'
and in fact it was not more than half a league distant having every
sail set, and steering right upon us. We rushed from our tent; even
those whom enormous wounds in their inferior extremities had confined
for many days, dragged themselves to the back of the raft, to enjoy a
sight of the ship which had come to save us from certain death. We
embraced one another with a transport which looked much like madness,
and tears of joy trickled down our cheeks, withered by the most cruel
privations. Each seized handkerchiefs, or some pieces of linen, to
make signals to the brig, which was rapidly approaching us. Some fell
on their knees, and fervently returned thanks to Providence for this
miraculous preservation of their lives. Our joy redoubled when saw we
at the top of the fore-mast a large white flag, and we cried, 'It is
then to Frenchmen we will owe our deliverance.' We instantly
recognised the brig to be the Argus; it was then about two gunshots
from us. We were terribly impatient to see her reef her sails, which
at last she did, and fresh cries of joy arose from our raft. The Argus
came and lay-to on our starboard, about half a pistol-shot from us.
The crew, ranged upon the deck and on the shrouds, announced to us, by
the waving of their hands and hats, the pleasure they felt at coming
to the assistance of their unfortunate countrymen. In a short time we
were all transported on board the brig, where we found the lieutenant
of the frigate, and some others who had been wrecked with us.
Compassion was painted on every face, and pity drew tears from every
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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