I now crawled with great caution toward 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 hopes that Augustus would recover, as he evinced no
      signs of life; but, upon getting to him, we discovered that he
      had merely swooned from the 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 recognizing 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. Our chief sufferings were now those of hunger and thirst, and
      when we looked forward to the means of relief in this respect,
      our hearts sunk within us, and we were induced to regret that we
      had escaped the less dreadful perils of the sea. We endeavoured,
      however, to console ourselves with the hope of being speedily
      picked up by some vessel and encouraged each other to bear with
      fortitude the evils that might happen. The morning of the fourteenth at length dawned, and the weather
      still continued clear and pleasant, with a steady but very light
      breeze from the N. W. The sea was now quite smooth, and as, from
      some cause which we could not determine, the brig did not lie so
      much along as she had done before, the deck was comparatively
      dry, and we could move about with freedom. We had now been better
      than three entire days and nights without either food or drink,
      and it became absolutely necessary that we should make an attempt
      to get up something from below. As the brig was completely full
      of water, we went to this work despondently, and with but little
      expectation of being able to obtain anything. We made a kind of
      drag by driving some nails which we broke out from the remains of
      the companion-hatch into two pieces of wood. Tying these across
      each other, and fastening them to the end of a rope, we threw
      them into the cabin, and dragged them to and fro, in the faint
      hope of being thus able to entangle some article which might be
      of use to us for food, or which might at least render us
      assistance in getting it. We spent the greater part of the
      morning in this labour without effect, fishing up nothing more
      than a few bedclothes, which were readily caught by the nails. Indeed, our contrivance was so very clumsy that any greater
      success was hardly to be anticipated. We now tried the forecastle, but equally in vain, and were upon
      the brink of despair, when Peters proposed that we should fasten
      a rope to his body, and let him make an attempt to get up
      something by diving into the cabin. This proposition we hailed
      with all the delight which reviving hope could inspire. He
      proceeded immediately to strip off his clothes with the exception
      of his pantaloons; and a strong rope was then carefully fastened
      around his middle, being brought up over his shoulders in such a
      manner that there was no possibility of its slipping. The
      undertaking was one of great difficulty and danger; for, as we
      could hardly expect to find much, if any, provision in the cabin
      itself, it was necessary that the diver, after letting himself
      down, should make a turn to the right, and proceed under water a
      distance of ten or twelve feet, in a narrow passage, to the
      storeroom, and return, without drawing breath. Everything being ready, Peters now descended in the cabin, going
      down the companion-ladder until the water reached his chin. He
      then plunged in, head first, turning to the right as he plunged,
      and endeavouring to make his way to the storeroom. In this first
      attempt, however, he was altogether unsuccessful. In less than
      half a minute after his going down we felt the rope jerked
      violently (the signal we had agreed upon when he desired to be
      drawn up). We accordingly drew him up instantly, but so
      incautiously as to bruise him badly against the ladder. He had
      brought nothing with him, and had been unable to penetrate more
      than a very little way into the passage, owing to the constant
      exertions he found it necessary to make in order to keep himself
      from floating up against the deck. Upon getting out he was very
      much exhausted, and had to rest full fifteen minutes before he
      could again venture to descend.