The Adventures of Roderick Random

Economy of the Expedition

The expedition’s management extended to grim practices: commanders ordered dead bodies thrown overboard without burial or wrappings rather than face burial duties, leading to human remains floating in the harbour until consumed by sharks and birds. The onset of the wet season brought continuous rainfall from sunrise to sunset, followed by ceaseless thunder and lightning that provided enough illumination to read small print.

KAPITEL XXXIV.

The epidemic of bilious fever that afflicted the crew proved devastating, claiming three-fourths of those it infected and turning their skin black with putrefaction; the narrator, feeling its symptoms approach, petitioned Captain Oakum to be moved from the pestilential cockpit to the middle deck for fresh air, only to be refused, yet he persisted in joining the soldiers’ hammocks until the malicious Crampley reported his disobedience and had him cast back into his original berth. A sympathetic sergeant, whose broken nose the narrator had once set, then offered the use of his own well-aired berth, and during his illness the narrator maintained his spirits by spurning all medicine while appearing to comply, even enduring the chaplain’s importunate attempts to extract an auricular confession before the fever reached its crisis; when he perceived a favourable moisture on his thigh, he induced a profuse sweat that restored him, though not before he had the satisfaction of duping the mourning Morgan with a counterfeit death and snapping at his fingers.

The Fever Epidemic

An epidemic fever rages among the crew, with three-fourths of those infected dying. The bilious fever spreads due to the change of atmosphere, stench, heat, bad provisions, and despair. The conductors decide to abandon their conquests, rendering artillery useless and blowing up walls before returning to Jamaica. The narrator finds himself threatened with the same symptoms and knows he stands no chance of survival in the cockpit’s intolerable heat and smell.

The Rejected Petition

Knowing the cockpit will be deadly, the narrator writes a petition to Captain Oakum requesting permission to stay among the soldiers on the middle deck for better air. The captain refuses, ordering him to continue in the surgeon mates’ place or remain in the hospital, which is even more offensive and suffocating. Instead of submitting, the narrator prevails upon the soldiers to admit his hammock among them. When Crampley learns of this, he reports the disobedience to the captain, who gives Crampley power to return the narrator to his proper berth.

Rescue from Suffocation

Enraged by this revenge, the narrator’s fever increases violently. While gasping for breath, he is visited by a sergeant whose broken nose he had repaired after a battle. The sergeant offers his berth on the middle deck, enclosed with canvas and aired by a port-hole. The grateful halberdier has no other bed than a hencoop during the passage. The narrator accepts and is treated with tenderness, though his illness continues to worsen and his life is despaired of. Six or seven men die daily and are thrown overboard.

The Chaplain’s Visit

Morgan brings diaphoretic medicines, which the narrator secretly spits out, believing medicine cooperates with the disease rather than fighting it. He seemingly complies to avoid affronting Morgan’s professional pride. When the fever reaches its height, Morgan applies a blister to the narrator’s neck and summons the chaplain for spiritual consolation. The chaplain arrives and, after feeling the narrator’s pulse, begins asking about his soul. He recommends confession of sins, especially “whoredom and adultery,” and asks about his religion. The narrator, not fearing death, smiles at the inquiry and declines auricular confession, saying it savors more of the Roman than Protestant church. When the narrator reveals he was bred a Presbyterian and has not taken the oaths or received the sacrament, the chaplain declares he can do no service and leaves.

Favorable Crisis

The fever soon grows outrageous and the narrator begins seeing strange visions, concluding he is becoming delirious. In danger of suffocation, he attempts to plunge into the sea but notices moisture on his thigh, a favorable symptom. He seizes this advantage by tearing off his shirt and sheets, wrapping himself in a thick blanket for a quarter of an hour in intense pain. A profuse sweat follows, relieving his complaints within two hours except for weakness. He enjoys a nap and awakens hungry.