Prologue
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It may appear strange, but now, when we were in the very jaws of the gulf, I felt more composed than when we were only approaching it.
I found it odd that I felt less afraid when we were closer to death than when we were just approaching it.

Having made up my mind to hope no more, I got rid of a great deal of that terror which unmanned me at first. I supposed it was despair that strung my nerves.
Once I had given up hope, I was less scared and figured it was due to feeling helpless.

It may look like boasting - but what I tell you is truth - I began to reflect how magnificent a thing it was to die in such a manner, and how foolish it was in me to think of so paltry a consideration as my own individual life, in view of so wonderful a manifestation of God's power. I do believe that I blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind.
Some may think I am bragging, but I truly appreciated the beauty of dying in this way and felt embarrassed for thinking that my own life was more important than God's power.

After a little while I became possessed with the keenest curiosity about the whirl itself. I positively felt a wish to explore its depths, even at the sacrifice I was going to make; and my principal grief was that I should never be able to tell my old companions on shore about the mysteries I should see. These, no doubt, were singular fancies to occupy a man's mind in such extremity - and I have often thought since, that the revolutions of the boat around the pool might have rendered me a little light-headed.
Despite the risk to my life, I felt a strong desire to explore the whirl and was sad to think that I would never be able to share my experiences with my old friends. Looking back, I realize that my curiosity may have been sparked by the constant spinning of the boat.

As I felt the sickening sweep of the descent, I had instinctively tightened my hold upon the barrel, and closed my eyes. For some seconds I dared not open them -- while I expected instant destruction, and wondered that I was not already in my death-struggles with the water. But moment after moment elapsed. I still lived. The sense of falling had ceased; and the motion of the vessel seemed much as it had been before, while in the belt of foam, with the exception that she now lay more along. I took courage and looked once again upon the scene.
When we started to fall into the maelstrom, I held on tight to the barrel and kept my eyes shut in fear. But after a few moments, I was surprised that I was still alive and noticed that the boat was now lying on its side. I mustered up the courage to take another look at our situation.

The slope of the sides of the vast funnel became momently less and less steep. The gyrations of the whirl grew, gradually, less and less violent. By degrees, the froth and the rainbow disappeared, and the bottom of the gulf seemed slowly to uprise. The sky was clear, the winds had gone down, and the full moon was setting radiantly in the west, when I found myself on the surface of the ocean (...)
Gradually, the whirl became less steep and less violent, until it eventually dissipated and the bottom of the gulf emerged. The sky was clear, the winds had died down, and the full moon was setting when I finally found myself on the surface of the ocean.