Читать книгу The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen / Приключения барона Мюнхгаузена. Уровень 1 - Рудольф Эрих Распе, Готфрид Бюргер, Готфрид Август Бюргер - Страница 23

I embarked at Portsmouth in a first-rate English man-of-war[24], of one hundred guns, and fourteen hundred men, for North America. Nothing worth relating happened till we arrived within three hundred leagues of the river St. Laurence. The ship struck with amazing force against (as we supposed) a rock. However, we could find no bottom, even with three hundred fathom. What made this circumstance the more wonderful, and indeed beyond all comprehension, was, that the violence of the shock was such that we lost our rudder. We broke our bowsprit in the middle, and split all our masts from top to bottom. Two of our masts went by the board. A poor fellow flew at least three leagues from the ship. But he fortunately saved his life. He held the tail of a large seagull. The bird brought him back, and lodged him on the very spot from whence he was thrown.

Another proof of the violence of the shock was the force with which the people between decks were driven against the floors above them. My head particularly was pressed into my stomach, where it continued some months before it recovered its natural situation.

We were all in a state of astonishment. But everything was suddenly explained by the appearance of a large whale. It was basking, asleep, within sixteen feet of the surface of the water. Our ship gave the whale some disturbance. This animal was so much displeased that he beat in all the gallery and part of the quarter-deck with his tail. Almost at the same instant it took the mainsheet anchor between its teeth, and ran away with the ship, at least sixty leagues, at the rate of twelve leagues an hour. Then fortunately the cable broke, and we lost both the whale and the anchor.

However, upon our return to Europe, some months after, we found the same whale within a few leagues of the same spot. It was floating dead upon the water. It measured above half a mile in length. We could take only a small quantity of such a monstrous animal on board. With much difficulty we cut off his head, where, to our great joy, we found the anchor, and above forty fathom of the cable. It was concealed on the left side of his mouth, just under his tongue. Perhaps this was the cause of his death.

This was the only extraordinary circumstance that happened on this voyage. One part of our distress, however, I want to forget. While the whale was running away with the ship, the ship sprung a leak[25]. The water poured in so fast, that all our pumps could not save us: we were sinking. It was, however, my good fortune to discover it first. I found a large hole about a foot Diameter. And I sat down over it! So we were saved. My situation, while I sat there, was rather cool, but the carpenter soon relieved me.