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Updated: May 31, 2025
But let that be how it will, those were our apprehensions; and both my partner and I too scarce slept a night without dreaming of halters and yard-arms; that is to say, gibbets; of fighting, and being taken; of killing, and being killed; and one night I was in such a fury in my dream, fancying the Dutchmen had boarded us, and I was knocking one of their seamen down, that I struck my double fist against the side of the cabin I lay in, with such a force as wounded my hand most gievously, broke my knuckles, and cut and bruised the flesh, so that it not only waked me out of my sleep, but I was once afraid I should have lost two of my fingers.
Scipio, therefore, contrary to his usual practice in naval engagements, drew the ships of war, which might have been employed in defending the rest, into the rear, and formed them into a line near the land; opposing to the enemy a row of transports, four deep, to serve as a wall; and, lest these same transports should be thrown into disorder during the confusion of the battle, he bound them together by placing masts and yard-arms across them, from one vessel to the other; and, by means of strong ropes, fastened them together, as it were, by one uninterrupted bond.
The yard-arms striking the ground, forced the masts somewhat above the water; as the ship overset, the people got from the shrouds and yards, upon the hull, and as the hull went down, they again resorted to the rigging, rising a little out of the sea.
A long lane of darkling water lay wedged between, like that narrow canal in Venice which dozes between two shadowy piles, and high in air is secretly crossed by the Bridge of Sighs. But where the six yard-arms reciprocally arched overhead, three bridges of sighs were both seen and heard, as the moon and wind kept rising.
Down came the yards on the caps. The sails were now bulging out and shaking in the wind. Out flew the active topmen to the yard-arms. Jack, as he had often before done, ran out to get hold of the weather earing. He was hauling away on it while the men hauled the reef over to him. He had already taken two outer turns with it, when, as he leaned back, he felt himself suddenly thrown from his hold.
It appears by the log of the Cæsar that she continued for some time on the same tack, which may account for her having sustained little injury, although it mentions that she shipped several heavy seas. So tremendous was the rolling of the ship, that her lower yard-arms were at one time under water, while the carpenters stood by with their axes, to cut the masts away, if she had not righted.
When the yard-arms were furled, the bunt was all adrift again, which made more work for us. We got all secure at last, but we had been nearly an hour and a half upon the yard, and it seemed an age. It just struck five bells when we went up, and eight were struck soon after we came down.
Men were slipping down while trying to dig their fingers into the planks; others, jammed in corners, rolled enormous eyes. They all yelled unceasingly: "The masts! Cut! Cut!..." A black squall howled low over the ship, that lay on her side with the weather yard-arms pointing to the clouds; while the tall masts, inclined nearly to the horizon, seemed to be of an immeasurable length.
At length, however, a slight movement became observable on board the Santa Theresa; and presently we saw that tackles were being got up on the main-topmast-stay and the lower yard-arms.
With a terrific, unearthly streaming roar it rushed upon her, and the barque, as if conscious of her utter inability to withstand its tremendous strength, instantly went over on her beam-ends, with her lower yard-arms dipping into the water. The men in the lee-rigging were almost completely sheltered by the hull of the ship, and they had therefore but little difficulty in holding on.
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