Of one who hates us, so the night was shown
—[MS.]
And grimly darkled o’er their faces pale,
And hopeless eyes, which o’er the deep alone
Gazed dim and desolate—.
“As rafts had been mentioned by the carpenter, I thought it right to make the attempt. … It was impossible for any man to deceive himself with the hopes of being saved on a raft in such a sea.”
—“Loss of the Centaur,” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, 1812, III 50. 51
—Editor ↩
“Spars, booms, hencoops, and everything buoyant, was therefore cast loose, that the men might have some chance to save themselves.”
—“Loss of the Pandora,” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, III 197
—Editor ↩
“We had scarce quitted the ship, when she gave a heavy lurch to port, and then went down, head foremost.”
—“Loss of the Lady Hobart,” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, III 378
—Editor ↩
“At this moment, one of the officers told the captain that she was going down … and bidding him farewell, leapt overboard: … the crew had just time to leap overboard, which they did, uttering a most dreadful yell.”
—“Loss of the Pandora,” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, III 198
—Editor ↩
“The boat, being fastened to the rigging, was no sooner cleared of the greatest part of the water, than a dog of mine came to me running along the gunwale. I took him in.”
—“Shipwreck of the Sloop Betsy, on the Coast of Dutch Guiana, August 5, 1756 (Philip Aubin, Commander),” Remarkable Shipwrecks, Hartford, 1813, p. 175
—Editor ↩
Qy.
“My good Sir! when the sea runs very high this is the case, as I know, but if my authority is not enough, see Bligh’s account of his run to Timor, after being cut adrift by the mutineers headed by Christian.”—[B.]
“Pray tell me who was the Lubber who put the query? surely not you, Hobhouse! We have both of us seen too much of the sea for that. You may rely on my using no nautical word not founded on authority, and no circumstances not grounded in reality.”
—Editor ↩
“It blew a violent storm, and the sea ran very high, so that between the seas the sail was becalmed; and when on the top of the sea, it was too much to have set, but I was obliged to carry it, for we were now in very imminent danger and distress; the sea curling over the stern of the boat, which obliged us to bale with all our might.”
—A Narrative of the Mutiny of the Bounty, by William Bligh, 1790, p. 23
—Editor ↩
“Before it was dark, a blanket was discovered in the boat. This was immediately bent to one of the stretchers, and under it, as a sail, we scudded all night, in expectation of being swallowed up by every wave.”
—“Loss of the Centaur,” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, 1812, III 52
—Editor ↩
“The sun rose very fiery and red, a sure indication of a severe gale of wind.—We could do nothing more than keep before the sea.—I now served a teaspoonful of rum to each person, … with a quarter of a breadfruit, which was scarce eatable, for dinner.”
—A Narrative, etc., by W. Bligh, 1790, pp. 23, 24
—Editor ↩
“[As] our lodgings were very miserable and confined, I had only in my power to remedy the latter defect, by putting ourselves at watch and watch; so that one half always sat up, while the other half lay down on the boat’s bottom, with nothing to cover us but the heavens.”
—A Narrative of the Mutiny of the Bounty, by William Bligh, 1790, p. 28
—Editor ↩
For Byron’s debts to Mrs. Massingberd, “Jew” King, etc., and for money raised on annuities, see Letters, 1898, II 174, note 2, and letter to Hanson, December 11, 1817, Letters, 1900, IV 187,
“The list of annuities sent by Mr. Kinnaird, including Jews and Sawbridge, amounts to twelve thousand eight hundred and some odd pounds.”
—Editor ↩
“The third day we began to suffer exceedingly … from hunger and thirst. I then seized my dog, and plunged the knife in his throat. We caught his blood in the hat, receiving in our hands and drinking what ran over; we afterwards drank in turn out of the hat, and felt ourselves refreshed.”
—“Shipwreck of the Betsy,” Remarkable Shipwrecks, Hartford, 1813, p. 177
—Editor ↩
“One day, when I was at home in my hut with my Indian dog, a party came to my door, and told me their necessities were such that they must eat the creature or starve. Though their plea was urgent, I could not help using some arguments to endeavour to dissuade them from killing him, as his faithful services and fondness deserved it at my hands; but, without weighing my arguments, they took him away by force and killed him. … Three weeks after that I was glad to make a meal of his paws and skin which, upon recollecting the spot where they had killed him, I found thrown aside and rotten.”
—The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron, etc., 1768, pp. 47, 48
—Editor ↩
Being driven to distress for want of food, “they soaked their shoes, and two hairy caps in water; and when sufficiently softened ate portions of the leather.” But day after day having passed, and the cravings of hunger pressing hard upon them, they fell upon the horrible and dreadful expedient of eating each other; and in order to prevent any contention about who should become the food of the others, “they cast lots to determine the sufferer.”—“Sufferings of the Crew of the Thomas [Twelve Men in an Open Boat, 1797],” Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, 1812, III 356 —Editor ↩
