Page:Wonderful adventures of sixteen British seamen.pdf/16

 on the bosom of a pond. Instead of one such shot, however, five-and-twenty double shots of grape and canister were sent by deliberate aim among the boats of Arica, and caeheach [sic] shot struck its allotted portion of the line of attaekattack [sic]. At the scene which presented itself when the smoke elearedcleared [sic] away, even the drugger's erewcrew [sic] were appalled. The grape had swept the entire line, earryingcarrying [sic] death and destruetiondestruction [sic] before it; and the eannonscannons [sic] roar was in an instant sueeeededsucceeded [sic] by the loud shrieks of the wounded and drowning. Several boats were sunk, others were fast sinking, while those that swam were soon overloaded by suehsuch [sic] as had scrambled into them, or had been piekedpicked [sic] out of the water; some of the craft, indeed, were in this way swamped, and their erewcrew [sic] suffered to perish, for there existed no means of saving them. All around was eoveredcovered [sic] with shattered planks, drifting oars, and the still buoyant bodies of thothe [sic] killed, while here and there were seen wounded soldiers, sailors, and eitizenscitizens [sic], engaged in an ineffeetualineffectual [sic] struggle for life.

The surviving boats soon madomade [sic] for ArieaArica [sic], and the authorities there wisely resolved to make no farther attempts to disturb the new masters of the Minerva. One of these, the same Tom Martin whosowhose [sic] name has been already mentioned, and from whom this narative has been chiefly derived, was informed, somosome [sic] years afterwards, that the Minerva's fatal broadsidobroadside [sic] eonsignedconsigned [sic] to eternity upwards of 150 men!

Not in the least surprising ineidentincident [sic] in the fortunes of Mackay and his shipmates remains to be related. After having deliberately put the ship in proper sailing trim, they stood out to sea, in order to eatchcatch [sic] the trade-wind, which, at the distaneedistance [sic] of 150 miles from the land, blew at that time from