{"id":"01KG8AJW03TAQ2V1JJMQ87QJ2S","cid":"bafkreibfdur7r6w2uizssyxcd4oc37dop7lw7yn5o2qjxttvwyt3mv23hm","type":"chapter","properties":{"description":"# CHAPTER LXXIV. A Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail\n\n## Overview\nThis chapter, titled \"A Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail,\" is part of the novel [Mardi: And a Voyage Thither](arke:01KG8AJ8ZNB03D0FWFP362WQEN). It was extracted from the file [mardi_vol2.txt](arke:01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9) and is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The chapter details a dramatic event at sea where a destructive storm, referred to as a \"Death-Cloud,\" passes by the protagonists' vessel.\n\n## Context\nThis chapter follows [CHAPTER LXXIII. At Last, The Last Mention Is Made Of Old Bardianna; And His Last Will And Testament Is Recited At Length](arke:01KG8AJVZZ28KPZ6QDRES7J0E6) and precedes [CHAPTER LXXV. They Visit The Palmy King Abrazza](arke:01KG8AJW0186C2NEJ6H76NW8BS). The narrative describes the fear and philosophical reflections of the characters, particularly Babbalanja, as they witness the destructive power of nature and contemplate mortality.\n\n## Contents\nThe chapter opens with the sighting of a massive, fast-moving cloud that resembles a waterspout. The characters, including Yoomy, Babbalanja, and Media, react with a mix of fear and stoicism. The \"Death-Cloud\" engulfs a fleet of a thousand other vessels, creating a maelstrom and sinking them. The protagonists' ship narrowly escapes destruction. Following the event, Mohi expresses gratitude for their survival. Babbalanja then delivers a lengthy monologue reflecting on the inevitability of death from various causes, suggesting that life itself is a form of mortality and that escape is ultimately futile. The chapter emphasizes themes of fate, the power of nature, and the human condition.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:59.959Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"CHAPTER LXXIV. A Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail","end_line":10372,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:38.723Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"CHAPTER LXXIV. A Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail","source_file":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","start_line":10319,"text":"CHAPTER LXXIV.\r\nA Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail\r\n\r\n\r\nNext day, a fearful sight!\r\n\r\nAs in Sooloo’s seas, one vast water-spout will, sudden, form: and\r\nwhirling, chase the flying Malay keels; so, before a swift-winged\r\ncloud, a thousand prows sped by, leaving braided, foaming wakes; their\r\ncrowded inmates’ arms, in frenzied supplications wreathed; like tangled\r\nforest-boughs.\r\n\r\n“See, see,” cried Yoomy, “how the Death-cloud flies! Let us dive down\r\nin the sea.”\r\n\r\n“Nay,” said Babbalanja. “All things come of Oro; if we must drown, let\r\nOro drown us.”\r\n\r\n“Down sails: drop paddles,” said Media: “here we float.”\r\n\r\nLike a rushing bison, sweeping by, the Death-cloud grazed us with its\r\nfoam; and whirling in upon the thousand prows beyond, sudden burst in\r\ndeluges; and scooping out a maelstrom, dragged down every plank and\r\nsoul.\r\n\r\nLong we rocked upon the circling billows, which expanding from that\r\ncenter, dashed every isle, till, moons after-ward, faint, they laved\r\nall Mardi’s reef.\r\n\r\n“Thanks unto Oro,” murmured Mohi, “this heart still beats.”\r\n\r\nThat sun-flushed eve, we sailed by many tranquil harbors, whence fled\r\nthose thousand prows. Serene, the waves ran up their strands; and\r\nchimed around the unharmed stakes of palm, to which the thousand prows\r\nthat morning had been fastened.\r\n\r\n“Flying death, they ran to meet it,” said Babbalanja. “But tie not that\r\nthey fled, they died; for maelstroms, of these harbors, the Death-cloud\r\nmight have made. But they died, because they might not longer live.\r\nCould we gain one glimpse of the great calendar of eternity, all our\r\nnames would there be found, glued against their dates of death. We die\r\nby land, and die by sea; we die by earthquakes, famines, plagues, and\r\nwars; by fevers, agues; woe, or mirth excessive. This mortal air is one\r\nwide pestilence, that kills us all at last. Whom the Death-cloud\r\nspares, sleeping, dies in silent watches of the night. He whom the\r\nspears of many battles could not slay, dies of a grape-stone, beneath\r\nthe vine-clad bower he built, to shade declining years. We die, because\r\nwe live. But none the less does Babbalanja quake. And if he flies not,\r\n’tis because he stands the center of a circle; its every point a\r\nleveled dart; and every bow, bent back:—a twang, and Babbalanja dies.”\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"CHAPTER LXXIV. A Death-Cloud Sweeps By Them, As They Sail"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJ8ZNB03D0FWFP362WQEN","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJVZZ28KPZ6QDRES7J0E6","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJW0186C2NEJ6H76NW8BS","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:45.667Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:00.455Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}