Page:Voyages in the Northern Pacific - 1896.djvu/33

Rh arrived safe at Canton, with a valuable cargo of furs, and was laid up, on account of the war between the United States and Great Britain.

Mr. Astor next sent out the ship Lark, Captain Northrope, with instructions to touch at the Sandwich Islands: but when they got into their latitude, and were running down before the wind, it came on to blow very hard, which reduced them to a close-reefed main top-sail and fore-sail. The sea was running mountain high, and the ship being very crank, in the middle watch (which was kept by Mr. Machal, a relative of Mr. Astor's) she suddenly broached-to, and a sea struck her, which laid her on her beam-ends. The people lost no time in cutting away the masts, by which means she righted. Fortunately for them, the cargo consisted chiefly of rum for the Russians, and light goods, which, added to the number of empty water-casks on board, made the ship float light. After the gale had abated, they got the spare spars, and rigged one for a jury-mast. They also built a sort of stage on the forecastle, and, by means of a Sandwich Islander named Power, whom they brought from America with them, got a top-gallant-sail up from below, and set it on the jury foremast. They then cut the anchors from the bows, but afterwards felt the loss of them, managing nevertheless to steer the ship towards the Sandwich Islands. They remained nineteen days on the wreck, subsisting entirely on what the islander could get from the cabin, as he could not go down the main hatchway, on account of the casks drifting about; they also killed several