Page:1881-01-24 Ethel (ship) testemony from W. S. Hall.djvu/2

 O'Grady then went aft & told his son O'Grady junior to put some matches in a small bottle & cork it up tight. O'Grady then come to me & told me to leave the pumps as the vessel was bilged & the cabin filling with water. I then went below & John O'Grady junior then said to me "Do you think Mr Hall, we shall get on shore". To which I replied "We shall be able to swim ashore easily" - I then went on deck the boy following me. On reaching the deck, O'Grady senior said that we must leave her - I replied "Do you not think it would be better to go aloft". He answered in the negative as he seemed to think, she might roll over, as she did a few years ago, with another owner. O'Grady senior then told the natives to jump into the water, which they did very willingly. He then handed them his sea-chest which he had previously locked up. We all followed the natives in good order & struck out for the land. We very quicky swam through the mangroves, when finding all the country was under water after swimming from the mangroves a short distanc e— I remarked to O'Grady senior, that we had better go back to the mangroves & have a spell, which we did. We remained there for some time being uncertain how far it was to land. We were now shifting from tree to tree as each tree we were on got submerged. The tide now began to rise rapidly - the wind being with the tide. I being near O' Grady senior, I shouted to him that we could not remain there long as the tide was rising fast. To which he replied "No". About 30 minutes afterwards the whole of the mangroves were nearly under water. The tide must have risen 5 or 6 feet in that time. The natives then left us. John O'Grady junior having been washed off his tree swam to mine which had a double-top. He reached the branch I was on & got up very quickly. He was then uninjured. He got up above me & I shouted to him to keep down, for if it went any higher up it, it would break. Thinking that that part of the tree would not hold the two of us I went to the lower branch. The waves were now & had been for some time submerging us at intervals of 2 seconds, so that we began to be much exhausted. I was just preparing to strike out for the land when the branch I was on broke off & I was washed away. When I came to the surface I looked around & saw Page - 2