the carpenter, I thought it right to make the attempt, though I knew our booms could not float half the fhip's company in fine weather, but we were in a fituation to catch at a ftraw; I, therefore, called the fhip's company together, told them my intention, recommending to them to remain regular and obedient to their officers. Preparations were immediately made to this purpofe; the booms were cleared; the boats, of which we had three, viz. cutter, pinnace, and five-oared yawl, were got over the fide; a bag of bread was ordered to be put in each, and any liquors that could be got at, for the purpofe of fupplying the rafts. I had intended myself to go into the five-oared yawl, and the coxfwain was defired to get any thing from my fteward that might be useful. Two men, who could be depended on, were placed in each of them, to prevent any man from forcing the boats, or getting into them, until an arrangement was made. While thefe preparations were making, the thip was gradually finking, the orlop decks having been blown up by the water in the hold, and the cables floated to the gun deck. The men had for fome time quitted their employment of bailing, and the fhip was left to her fate.

In the afternoon the weather again threatened, and in fqualls blew ftrong; the fea ran high, and the yawl, ftove along-fide and funk. As the evening approached, the fhip appeared little more than fufpended in water. There was no certainty that the would swim from one minute to another; and the love of life, which I believe never fhewed itfelf later in the approach to death, began now to level all distinctions. It was impoffible, indeed, for any man to deceive himfelf with

L2

a hope

a hope of being saved upon a raft in such a sea; befides that, the ship in finking, it was probable, would carry every thing down with her in a vortex, to a certain diftance.

It was near five o'clock, when coming from my cabin I observed a number of people looking very anxiously over the fide; and looking myfelf, I faw that feveral men had forced the pinnace, and that more were attempting to get in. I had immediate thoughts of fecuring this boat before the might be funk by numbers. There appeared not more than a moment for confideration; to remain and perifh with the thip's company, whom I could not be any longer of use to, or feize the opportunity which feemed the only way of efcaping, and leave the people, whom I had been fo well fatisfied with on a variety of occafions, that I thought I could give my life to preferve them. This, indeed, was a painful conflict, and which, I believe, no man can defcribe, nor any man have a just idea of, who has not been in a fimilar fituation.

The love of life prevailed-I called to Mr. Rainy, the mafter, the only officer upon deck, defired him to follow me, and immediately defcended into the boat, at the after-part of the chains, but not without great difficulty got the boat clear from the thip: twice the number that the boat would carry pufhing to get in, and many jumping into the water. Mr. Baylis, a young gentleman, fifteen years of age, leaped from the chains after the boat had got off, and was taken in. The boat falling aftern, became expofed to the fea, and we endeavoured to pull her bow round, to keep her to the break of the fea, and to pass to windward of the ship; but in the

attempt

attempt fhe was nearly filled; the fea ran too high, and the only probability of her living, was keeping her before the wind."

It was then that I became fenfible how little, if any thing, better our condition was than that of those who remained in the fhip; at best, it appeared to be a prolongation of a miferable exiftence. We were altogether twelve in number, in a leaky boat, with one of the gunwales ftove, in nearly the middle of the Western Ocean, without compafs, without quadrant, without fail, without great coat or cloak, all very thinly cloathed, in a gale of wind, with a great fea running!-It was now five o'clock in the evening, and in half an hour we loft fight of the thip. Before it was dark, a blanket was difcovered in the boat. This was immediately bent to one of the ftretchers, and under it, as a fail, we fcudded all night, in expectation of being fwallowed up by every wave; it being with great difficulty that we could fometimes clear the boat of the water before the return of the next great fea; all of us half drowned, and fitting, except thofe who bailed at the bottom of the boat: and, without having really perished, I am fure no people ever endured more. In the morning, the weather grew moderate, the wind having shifted to the fouthward, as we difcovered by the fun. Having furvived the night, we began to recollect ourselves, and think of our future prefervation.

When we quitted the fhip, the wind was at north-weft, and Fayall had bore east fouth-eaft, two hundred and fifty, or two hundred and fixty leagues. Had the wind continued for five or fix days, there was a probability that, running before the fea, we might have fallen in with fome one of the

L 3

the Western Islands. The change of wind was death to these hopes; for fhould it come to blow, we knew there would be no preserving life but by running before the fea, which would carry us again to the northward, where we must soon afterwards perish.

Upon examining what, we had to fubfift on, I found a bag of bread, a fmall ham, a fingle piece of pork, two quart bottles of water, and a few of French cordials. The wind. continued to the fouthward for eight or nine days, and, providentially, never blew fo ftrong but that we could keep the fide of the boat to the fea, but we were always most miserably wet and cold. We kept a fort of a reckoning, but the fun and ftars being fometimes hid from us for the twenty-four hours, we had no certain ideas of our navigation. We judged, at this period, that we had made nearly an eaft north-eaft courfe, fince the first night's run, and expected to fee the Ifland of Corvo. In this, however, we were disappointed; and now we feared that the foutherly wind had driven us far to the northward. Our condition began to be truly miferable, both from hunger and cold, for on the fifth day we had discovered that our bread was nearly all spoiled by falt water, and it was neceffary to go to an allowance. One bifcuit, divided into twelve morfels, was ferved for breakfast, and the fame for dinner; the neck of a bottle, broken off, with the cork in, fupplied the place of a glafs, and this filled with water was the allowance for twenty-four hours for each man. This was done without any fort of partiality or diftinction: but we must have perifhed ere this, had we not caught fix quarts of Lain water; and this we could not have been bleffed

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