I knew that I had more than one rough temper
with me among my own people, for I had chosen those for the Long-boat
that I might have them under my eye. But, they softened under their
misery, and were as considerate of the ladies, and as compassionate of
the child, as the best among us, or among men--they could not have been
more so. I heard scarcely any complaining. The party lying down would
moan a good deal in their sleep, and I would often notice a man--not
always the same man, it is to be understood, but nearly all of them at
one time or other--sitting moaning at his oar, or in his place, as he
looked mistily over the sea. When it happened to be long before I could
catch his eye, he would go on moaning all the time in the dismallest
manner; but, when our looks met, he would brighten and leave off. I
almost always got the impression that he did not know what sound he had
been making, but that he thought he had been humming a tune.
Our sufferings from cold and wet were far greater than our sufferings
from hunger.
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