Wednesday, February the 2nd, 2011
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“Happily, by the goodness of the allwise Disposer of events, the unfortunate can avail themselves of a thousand sources of comfort, which, by those in prosperous circumstances, are either overlooked or neglected. We were upon a barren rock, in the midst of a waste of waters, far from kindred and friends, and the abodes of civilized man; the ship which had been our home, and on board of which we had embarked with high hopes, lay within sight, a useless wreck; still we were enabled to enjoy a moment of relief, if not of actual pleasure, derived from an event, which, though trifling in itself, is worthy of being recorded.
“We succeeded in taking an eel, a few crabs, and a small quantity of snails. Having our fire-works with us, we collected a sufficient number of sticks, with a few pieces of drift-wood which had lodged upon the rock, to make a fire; with this we cooked our fish and snails; and, with a small allowance of bread, we made what we then thought a sumptuous repast!”
Horace Holden, A Narrative Of The Shipwreck, Captivity And Sufferings Of Horace Holden And Benj. H. Nute; Who Were Cast Away In The American Ship Mentor, On The Pelew Islands, In The Year 1832; And For Two Years Afterwards Were Subjected To Unheard Of Sufferings Among The Barbarous Inhabitants Of Lord North's Island (1836)
Given that they were cast away on an island inhabited by barbarians, it is surprising that Benj. H. Nute and his pals were not able to eke out their eel, crabs, and snails with a goodly supply of rhubarb.