- Author:
- Grant, Colesworthey
- Publication Info:
-
Calcutta:
Thacker, Spink and Co,
1853,
pg 9
Text on page 9
giant sea, dipping her main boom five feet under water, she was not buried stern foremost, in the abyss created behind her ;athat she did not go down head foremost, as now, dipping her jib-boom fathom deep, she plunged with the rapidity of lightning down the hill of water which rolled under her ; or capsize at every terrific, breath-stopping roll which she made, dashing herself down upon her side on the receding surface of the seas which struck her,apouring in over the whole length of the gunwaleafilling, continually, the lee deck up to the hatch nearly two feet deep with wateraappeared little less than miraculous !
But now came night with all its sable horrors, and only an increase of the gale ! Each mountain of water, as it came accumulating, towering and rushing towards us, crested with foaming fire, seemed as though dooming us at one stroke to destruction !
I have said that the gale only increased, and you may suppose that our canvas was reduced to the smallest possible scale, but this was insufficient : yet what was to be done. " I cannot lay to (said Capt. Gamble,) for we are right in the track of the English ships, and were one of them to run us down, little more would be known of the Flora Macdonald. We should go down without a moment's warning." Upon consideration, however, of the probability that English ships at this period would run up more to the westward than we had reason to believe ourselves to be, Capt. G. determined at length to run the chance.
Though you may never have had any particular reason to be interested in the matter, the operation of " lying to" will not, I dare say, be any mystery to you. You may be sure it was interesting enough to me upon that fearful night, and each succeeding day and night of our resorting to it. With dawn we occasionally ventured to show an additional foot or so of canvas, and put the schooner a trifle before the windato "jog" us ahead a little, and save as much as possible the driftage we were making towards the north and a lee shore, and when we did soa Aahalf swallowed in the black profound"awe might be said to have been sailing under water rather than on itafor the lee gunwale and deck were almost continu-
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