Edgar Allan Poe

Name: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym — Chapter 6
Author: Edgar Allan Poe

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

Summary

“The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym — Chapter 6”, published in 1838, is a work by Edgar Allan Poe. It explores elements such as stowage, Augustus and cargo.

Quotes from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (Edgar Allan Poe)

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ Even after all this is done, and unusual pains taken to secure the shifting-boards, no seaman who knows what he is about will feel altogether secure in a gale of any violence with a cargo of grain on board, and, least of all, with a partial cargo. Yet there are hundreds of our coasting vessels, and, it is likely, many more from the ports of Europe, which sail daily with partial cargoes, even of the most dangerous species, and without any precaution whatever. The wonder is that no more accidents occur than do actually happen. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ It is when a partial cargo is received that danger is chiefly to be apprehended from shifting, and that precautions should be always taken to guard against such misfortune. Only those who have encountered a violent gale of wind, or rather who have experienced the rolling of a vessel in a sudden calm after the gale, can form an idea of the tremendous force of the plunges, and of the consequent terrible impetus given to all loose articles in the vessel. It is then that the necessity of a cautious stowage, when there is a partial cargo, becomes obvious. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ A proper stowage cannot be accomplished in a careless manner, and many most disastrous accidents, even within the limits of my own experience, have arisen from neglect or ignorance in this particular. Coasting vessels, in the frequent hurry and bustle attendant upon taking in or discharging cargo, are the most liable to mishap from the want of a proper attention to stowage. The great point is to allow no possibility of the cargo or ballast shifting position even in the most violent rollings of the vessel. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ I could see and hear every thing from my hiding-place, for the piece cut out had not been put back, and I was in momentary expectation that the negro would fall against the pea-jacket, which was hung up to conceal the aperture, in which case all would have been discovered, and our lives would, no doubt, have been instantly sacrificed. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ A light breeze sprang up at sunrise from the eastward, when the mate headed the brig to the southwest, with the intention of making some of the West India islands in pursuance of his piratical designs. No opposition was made by Peters or the cook—at least none in the hearing of Augustus. All idea of taking the vessel from the Cape Verds was abandoned. The leak was now easily kept under by one pump going every three quarters of an hour. The sail was drawn from beneath the bows. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ If grain loosely thrown in a vessel, then, is ever so well secured by shifting-boards and stanchions, it will be liable to shift in a long passage so greatly as to bring about the most distressing calamities. To prevent these, every method should be employed before leaving port to settle the cargo as much as possible ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ About daybreak there came on a stiff breeze from the west, which at noon freshened into a gale, so that the brig could carry nothing more than her trysail and foresail. In taking in the foretopsail, Simms, one of the common hands, and belonging also to the cook's gang, fell overboard, being very much in liquor, and was drowned—no attempt being made to save him. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ Both now went on deck, and I did not see Augustus for about three hours. He then came below with the good news that he had obtained permission to go about the brig as he pleased anywhere forward of the mainmast, and that he had been ordered to sleep, as usual, in the forecastle. He brought me, too, a good dinner, and a plentiful supply of water. The brig was still cruising for the vessel from the Cape Verds, and a sail was now in sight, which was thought to be the one in question. ”

Edgar Allan Poe

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Quotes from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (Edgar Allan Poe)

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