Feeling in my pantaloons' pocket, I got hold of my penknife, and,
after several ineffectual attempts, at length succeeded in opening
it. I then, with my left hand, managed to free my right from its
fastenings, and afterward cut the other ropes which held me. Upon
attempting, however, to move from my position, I found that my legs
failed me altogether, and that I could not get up; neither could I
move my right arm in any direction. Upon mentioning this to Parker,
he advised me to lie quiet for a few minutes, holding on to the
windlass with my left hand, so as to allow time for the blood to
circulate. Doing this, the numbness presently began to die away so
that I could move first one of my legs, and then the other, and,
shortly afterward I regained the partial use of my right arm. 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