Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I
They watched us long and earnestly. But curious to tell, in that verystrait of theirs, perched together in that airy top, their domesticdifferences again broke forth; most probably, from their beingsuddenly forced into such very close contact.
However that might be, taking advantage of our descent into thecabin, Samoa, in desperation fled from his wife, and one-armed as hewas, sailor-like, shifted himself over by the fore and aft-stays tothe main-top, his musket being slung to his back. And thus divided,though but a few yards intervened, the pair were as much asunder asif at the opposite Poles.
During the live-long night they were both in great perplexity as tothe extraordinary goblins on board. Such inquisitive, meddlesomespirits, had never before been encountered. So cool and systematic;sagaciously stopping the vessel's headway the better to rummage;--thevery plan they themselves had adopted. But what mostsurprised them, was our striking a light, a thing of which no trueghost would be guilty. Then, our eating and drinking on the quarter-deck including the deliberate investment of Vienna; and many otheractions equally strange, almost led Samoa to fancy that we were noshades, after all, but a couple of men from the moon.
Yet they had dimly caught sight of the frocks and trowsers we wore,similar to those which the captain of the Parki had bestowed upon thetwo Cholos, and in which those villains had been killed. This, withthe presence of the whale boat, united to chase away the conceit ofour lunar origin. But these considerations renewed their firstsuperstitious impressions of our being the ghosts of the murderoushalf-breeds.
Nevertheless, while during the latter part of the night we werereclining beneath him, munching our biscuit, Samoa eyeing usintently, was half a mind to open fire upon us by way of testing ourcorporeality. But most luckily, he concluded to defer so doing tillsunlight; if by that time we should not have evaporated.
For dame Annatoo, almost from our first boarding the brigantine,something in our manner had bred in her a lurking doubt as to thegenuineness of our atmospheric organization; and abandoned to herspeculations when Samoa fled from her side, her incredulity waxedstronger and stronger. Whence we came she knew not; enough, that weseemed bent upon pillaging her own precious purloinings. Alas!thought she, my buttons, my nails, my tappa, my dollars, my beads,and my boxes!
Wrought up to desperation by these dismal forebodings, she at lengthshook the ropes leading from her own perch to Samoa's; adopting thismethod of arousing his attention to the heinousness of whatwas in all probability going on in the cabin, a prelude most probablyto the invasion of her own end of the vessel. Had she dared raise hervoice, no doubt she would have suggested the expediency of shootingus so soon as we emerged from the cabin. But failing to shake Samoainto an understanding of her views on the subject, her malice provedfutile.
When her worst fears were confirmed, however, and we actuallydescended into the forecastle; there ensued such a reckless shakingof the ropes, that Samoa was fain to hold on hard, for fear of beingtossed out of the rigging. And it was this violent rocking thatcaused the loud creaking of the yards, so often heard by us whilebelow in Annatoo's apartment.
And the fore-top being just over the open forecastle scuttle, thedame could look right down upon us; hence our proceedings wereplainly revealed by the lights that we carried. Upon our breakingopen her strong-box, her indignation almost completely overmasteredher fears. Unhooking a top-block, down it came into the forecastle,charitably commissioned with the demolition of Jarl's cocoa-nut, thenmore exposed to the view of an aerial observer than my own. But of itturned out, no harm was done to our porcelain.
At last, morning dawned; when ensued Jarl's discovery as the occupantof the main-top; which event, with what followed, has been duly recounted.
And such, in substance, was the first, second, third and fourth actsof the Parki drama. The fifth and last, including several scenes,now follows.
CHAPTER XXVIIISuspicions Laid, And Something About The Calmuc
Though abounding in details full of the savor of reality, Samoa'snarrative did not at first appear altogether satisfactory. Not thatit was so strange; for stranger recitals I had heard.
But one reason, perhaps, was that I had anticipated a narrative quitedifferent; something agreeing with my previous surmises.
Not a little puzzling, also, was his account of having seen islandsthe day preceding; though, upon reflection, that might have been thecase, and yet, from his immediately altering the Parki's course, theChamois, unknowingly might have sailed by their vicinity. Still,those islands could form no part of the chain we were seeking. Theymust have been some region hitherto undiscovered.
But seems it likely, thought I, that one, who, according to his ownaccount, has conducted himself so heroically in rescuing thebrigantine, should be the victim of such childish terror at the mereglimpse of a couple of sailors in an open boat, so well supplied,too, with arms, as he was, to resist their capturing his craft, ifsuch proved their intention? On the contrary, would it not have beenmore natural, in his dreary situation, to have hailed our approachwith the utmost delight? But then again, we were taken for phantoms,not flesh and blood. Upon the whole, I regarded the narrator of thesethings somewhat distrustfully. But he met my gaze like a man. WhileAnnatoo, standing by, looked so expressively the Amazonian characterimputed to her, that my doubts began to waver. And recallingall the little incidents of their story, so hard to be conjured up onthe spur of a presumed necessity to lie; nay, so hard to be conjuredup at all; my suspicions at last gave way. And I could no longerharbor any misgivings.
For, to be downright, what object could Samoa have, in fabricatingsuch a narrative of horrors--those of the massacre, I mean--unless toconceal some tragedy, still more atrocious, in which he himself hadbeen criminally concerned? A supposition, which, for obvious reasons,seemed out of the question. True, instances were known to me of half-civilized beings, like Samoa, forming part of the crews of ships inthese seas, rising suddenly upon their white ship-mates, andmurdering them, for the sake of wrecking the ship on the shore ofsome island near by, and plundering her hull, when stranded.
But had this been purposed with regard to the Parki, where the restof the mutineers? There was no end to my conjectures; the more Iindulged in them, the more they multiplied. So, unwilling to tormentmyself, when nothing could be learned, but what Samoa related, andstuck to like a hero; I gave over conjecturing at all; striving hardto repose full faith in the Islander.
Jarl, however, was skeptical to the last; and never could be broughtcompletely to credit the tale. He stoutly maintained that thehobgoblins must have had something or other to do with the Parki.
My own curiosity satisfied with respect to the brigantine, Samoahimself turned inquisitor. He desired to know who we were; and whencewe came in our marvelous boat. But on these heads I thought best towithhold from him the truth; among other things, fancying that ifdisclosed, it would lessen his deference for us, as men superior tohimself. I therefore spoke vaguely of our adventures, and assumed thedecided air of a master; which I perceived was not lost upon the rudeIslander. As for Jarl, and what he might reveal, I embraced the firstopportunity to impress upon him the importance of never divulging ourflight from the Arcturion; nor in any way to commit himself on thathead: injunctions which he faithfully promised to observe.
If not wholly displeased with the fine form of Samoa, despite hissavage lineaments, and mutilated member, I was much less conciliatedby the person of Annatoo; who, being sinewy of limb, and neitheryoung, comely, nor amiable, was exceedingly distasteful in my eyes.Besides, she was a tigress. Yet how avoid admiring those Penthesilianqualities which so signally had aided Samoa, in wresting the Parkifrom its treacherous captors. Nevertheless, it was indispensable thatshe should at once be brought under prudent subjection; and made toknow, once for all, that though conjugally a rebel, she must benautically submissive. For to keep the sea with a Calmuc on board,seemed next to impossible. In most military marines, they areprohibited by law; no officer may take his Pandora and her bandboxoff sound
ings.
By the way, this self-same appellative, Pandora, has been bestowedupon vessels. There was a British ship by that name, dispatched inquest of the mutineers of the Bounty. But any old tar might haveprophesied her fate. Bound home she was wrecked on a reef off NewSouth Wales. Pandora, indeed! A pretty name for a ship: fairlysmiting Fate in the face. But in this matter of christening ships ofwar, Christian nations are but too apt to be dare-devils. Witness thefollowing: British names all--The Conqueror, the Defiance, theRevenge, the Spitfire, the Dreadnaught, the Thunderer, and theTremendous; not omitting the Etna, which, in the Roads of Corfu, wasstruck by lightning, coming nigh being consumed by fire from above.But almost potent as Moses' rod, Franklin's proved her salvation.
With the above catalogue, compare we the Frenchman's; quitecharacteristic of the aspirations of Monsieur:--The Destiny, theGlorious, the Magnanimous, the Magnificent, the Conqueror, theTriumphant, the Indomitable, the Intrepid, the Mont-Blanc. Lastly,the Dons; who have ransacked the theology of the religion of peacefor fine names for their fighting ships; stopping not at designatingone of their three-deckers, The Most Holy Trinity. But though, atTrafalgar, the Santissima Trinidada thundered like Sinai, herthunders were silenced by the victorious cannonade of the Victory.
And without being blown into splinters by artillery, how many ofthese Redoubtables and Invincibles have succumbed to the waves, andlike braggarts gone down before hurricanes, with their bravadoesbroad on their bows.
Much better the American names (barring Scorpions, Hornets, andWasps;) Ohio, Virginia, Carolina, Vermont. And if ever these Yankeesfight great sea engagements--which Heaven forefend!--how glorious,poetically speaking, to range up the whole federated fleet, and pourforth a broadside from Florida to Maine. Ay, ay, very gloriousindeed! yet in that proud crowing of cannon, how shall the shade ofpeace-loving Penn be astounded, to see the mightiest murderer of themall, the great Pennsylvania, a very namesake of his. Truly, thePennsylvania's guns should be the wooden ones, called by men-of-war's-men, Quakers.
But all this is an episode, made up of digressions. Time to tackship, and return.
Now, in its proper place, I omitted to mention, that shortly afterdescending from the rigging, and while Samoa was rehearsing hisadventures, dame Annatoo had stolen below into the forecastle, intentupon her chattels. And finding them all in mighty disarray, shereturned to the deck prodigiously, excited, and glancing angrilytoward Jarl and me, showered a whole torrent of objurgations intoboth ears of Samoa.
This contempt of my presence surprised me at first; but perhaps womenare less apt to be impressed by a pretentious demeanor, than men.
Now, to use a fighting phrase, there is nothing like boarding anenemy in the smoke. And therefore, upon this first token of Annatoo'stermagant qualities, I gave her to understand--craving her pardon--that neither the vessel nor aught therein was hers; but that everything belonged to the owners in Lahina. I added, that at all hazards,a stop must be put to her pilferings. Rude language for feminineears; but how to be avoided? Here was an infatuated woman, who,according to Samoa's account, had been repeatedly detected in the actof essaying to draw out the screw-bolts which held together theplanks. Tell me; was she not worse than the Load-Stone Rock, sailingby which a stout ship fell to pieces?
During this scene, Samoa said little. Perhaps he was secretly pleasedthat his matrimonial authority was reinforced by myself and myViking, whose views of the proper position of wives at sea, so fullycorresponded with his own; however difficult to practice, thosepurely theoretical ideas of his had hitherto proved.
Once more turning to Annatoo, now looking any thing but amiable, Iobserved, that all her clamors would be useless; and that if it cameto the worst, the Parki had a hull that would hold her.
In the end she went off in a fit of the sulks; sitting down on thewindlass and glaring; her arms akimbo, and swaying from side to side;while ever and anon she gave utterance to a dismal chant. It soundedlike an invocation to the Cholos to rise and dispatch us.
CHAPTER XXIXWhat They Lighted Upon In Further Searching The Craft, And TheResolution They Came To
Descending into the cabin with Samoa, I bade him hunt up thebrigantine's log, the captain's writing-desk, and nauticalinstruments; in a word, aught that could throw light on the previoushistory of the craft, or aid in navigating her homeward.
But nearly every thing of the kind had disappeared: log, quadrant,and ship's papers. Nothing was left but the sextant-case, which Jarland I had lighted upon in the state-room.
Upon this, vague though they were, my suspicions returned; and Iclosely questioned the Islander concerning the disappearance of theseimportant articles. In reply, he gave me to understand, that thenautical instruments had been clandestinely carried down into theforecastle by Annatoo; and by that indefatigable and inquisitive damethey had been summarily taken apart for scientific inspection. It wasimpossible to restore them; for many of the fixtures were lost,including the colored glasses, sights, and little mirrors; and manyparts still recoverable, were so battered and broken as to beentirely useless. For several days afterward, we now and then cameacross bits of the quadrant or sextant; but it was only to mourn overtheir fate.
However, though sextant and quadrant were both unattainable, I didnot so quickly renounce all hope of discovering a chronometer, which,if in good order, though at present not ticking, might still be madein some degree serviceable. But no such instrument was to be seen.No: nor to be heard of; Samoa himself professing utter ignorance.
Annatoo, I threatened and coaxed; describing the chronometer--a live,round creature like a toad, that made a strange noise, which Iimitated; but she knew nothing about it. Whether she had lighted uponit unbeknown to Samoa, and dissected it as usual, there was now noway to determine. Indeed, upon this one point, she maintained an airof such inflexible stupidity, that if she were really fibbing, herdead-wall countenance superseded the necessity for verbal deceit.
It may be, however, that in this particular she was wronged; for, aswith many small vessels, the Parki might never have possessed theinstrument in question. All thought, therefore, of feeling our way,as we should penetrate farther and farther into the waterywilderness, was necessarily abandoned.
The log book had also formed a portion of Annatoo's pilferings. Itseems she had taken it into her studio to ponder over. But afteramusing herself by again and again counting over the leaves, andwondering how so many distinct surfaces could be compacted togetherin so small a compass, she had very suddenly conceived an aversion toliterature, and dropped the book overboard as worthless. Doubtless,it met the fate of many other ponderous tomes; sinking quickly andprofoundly. What Camden or Stowe hereafter will dive for it?
One evening Samoa brought me a quarto half-sheet of yellowish, ribbedpaper, much soiled and tarry, which he had discovered in a dark holeof the forecastle. It had plainly formed part of the lost log; butall the writing thereon, at present decipherable, conveyed noinformation upon the subject then nearest my heart.
But one could not but be struck by a tragical occurrence, which thepage very briefly recounted; as well, as by a noteworthy pictorialillustration of the event in the margin of the text. Save the cut,there was no further allusion to the matter than the following:--"This day, being calm, Tooboi, one of the Lahina men, went overboardfor a bath, and was eaten up by a shark. Immediately sent forwardfor his bag."
Now, this last sentence was susceptible of two meanings. It is truth,that immediately upon the decease of a friendless sailor at sea, hisshipmates oftentimes seize upon his effects, and divide them; thoughthe dead man's clothes are seldom worn till a subsequent voyage. Thisproceeding seems heartless. But sailors reason thus: Better we, thanthe captain. For by law, either scribbled or unscribbled, the effectsof a mariner, dying on shipboard, should be held in trust by thatofficer. But as sailors are mostly foundlings and castaways, andcarry all their kith and kin in their arms and their legs, therehardly ever appears any heir-at-law to claim their estate; seldomworth inheriting, lik
e Esterhazy's. Wherefore, the withdrawal of adead man's "kit" from the forecastle to the cabin, is often heldtantamount to its virtual appropriation by the captain. At any rate,in small ships on long voyages, such things have been done.
Thus much being said, then, the sentence above quoted from theParki's log, may be deemed somewhat ambiguous. At the time it struckme as singular; for the poor diver's grass bag could not havecontained much of any thing valuable unless, peradventure, he hadconcealed therein some Cleopatra pearls, feloniously abstracted fromthe shells brought up from the sea.
Aside of the paragraph, copied above, was a pen-and-ink sketch of thecasualty, most cruelly executed; the poor fellow's legs beingrepresented half way in the process of deglutition; his arms firmlygrasping the monster's teeth, as if heroically bent upon making astough a morsel of himself as possible.
But no doubt the honest captain sketched this cenotaph to thedeparted in all sincerity of heart; perhaps, during themelancholy leisure which followed the catastrophe. Half obliteratedwere several stains upon the page; seemingly, lingering traces of asalt tear or two.
From this unwonted embellishment of the text, I was led to infer,that the designer, at one time or other, must have been engaged inthe vocation of whaling. For, in India ink, the logs of certainwhalemen are decorated by somewhat similar illustrations.
When whales are seen, but not captured, the fact is denoted by anoutline figure representing the creature's flukes, the broad, curvinglobes of his tail. But in those cases where the monster is bothchased and killed, this outline is filled up jet black; one for everywhale slain; presenting striking objects in turning over the log; andso facilitating reference. Hence, it is quite imposing to behold, allin a row, three or four, sometime five or six, of these drawings;showing that so many monsters that day jetted their last spout. Andthe chief mate, whose duty it is to keep the ship's record, generallyprides himself upon the beauty, and flushy likeness to life, of hisflukes; though, sooth to say, many of these artists are no Landseers.