Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/335

Rh country or conversing with any but savages, perhaps the most uncivilised in the world.

The dreadful time now approached, and the anxiety in everybody's countenance was visible enough. The capstan and windlass were manned, and they began to heave; the fear of death now stared us in the face; hopes we had none but of being able to keep the ship afloat till we could run her ashore on some part of the main where out of her materials we might build a vessel large enough to carry us to the East Indies. At ten o'clock she floated, and was in a few minutes hauled into deep water, where to our great satisfaction she made no more water than she had done, which was indeed full as much as we could manage, though there was no one in the ship but who willingly exerted his utmost strength.

The people who had been twenty-four hours at exceedingly hard work now began to flag; I myself, unused to labour, was much fatigued, and had lain down to take a little rest when I was awakened about twelve with the alarming news of the water having gained so much upon the pumps that the ship had four feet of water in her hold. Add to this that a regular land breeze blew off the coast, so that all hopes of running her ashore were totally cut off. This, however, acted upon every one like a charm: rest was no more thought of, but the pumps went with unwearied vigour till the water was all out, which was done in a much shorter time than was expected; and upon examination it was found that she never had half so much water in her as was thought, the carpenter having made a mistake in sounding the pumps.

We now began to have some hopes, and talked of getting the ship into some harbour when we could spare hands from the pumps to get up our anchors; one bower, however, we cut away, but got up the other and three small anchors, far more valuable to us than the bowers, as we were obliged immediately to warp her to windward that we might take advantage of the sea breeze to run in-shore.

One of our midshipmen now proposed an expedient which