154 WRECKS ON THE PURBECK COAST. 



rudder post was broken away, and she had evidently suffered 

 much at her stern. The water at high tide filled the hold, and 

 coming over the lowest or orlop deck, nearly reached the under- 

 side of the lower, or saloon deck ; beneath a hole cut in which, 

 a strange variety of bottles, provisions, boards, candles, chesnuts, 

 and all sorts of indescribables, were to be seen floating along 

 with the tide. 



The ship is made in compartments, which run up through the 

 hold and orlop deck, nearly, but not quite, to reach the lower 

 deck, and, since the tide flowed through, it was supposed that 

 the compartment nearest to the stern was broken. On examin- 

 ation however by the diver, it was reported that the first com- 

 partment was sound, and that the water was flowing over the 

 interval between the top of the compartment and the next deck. 

 It was conceived therefore, that if this compartment could be 

 heightened, so as to prevent the flow beneath the lower deck, 

 the water might be pumped out of the fore part of the vessel, 

 and as the water-logged portion would thus be only the stern 

 compartment, the vessel, lightened to the fullest practicable ex- 

 tent by the removal of paddlewheels, coals, &c., would at spring 

 tide be capable of being floated. The scheme was furthered by 

 the lightening of her as far as was possible, and the water from 

 the compartment w^as kept from flowing to the fore part, by 

 making a double bulk-head of boards, a foot apart, filled with 

 clay, reaching to the under surface of the lower deck. At four 

 o'clock on the morning of the 25th, one hundred and fifty men 

 set to work at the pumps, some twenty seven in number, and 

 after working for two hours and a half, instead of lowering the 

 water in the fore part about two feet, as they had confidently 

 anticipated, by the removal of from a hundred and sixty to a 

 hundred and eighty tons of water, the reduction did not amount 

 to three inches, clearly proving that there must be leaks of which 

 they were unaware. 



Continued attempts were made to remove the vessel. Much 

 that was scientific was talked of and recommended ; but no par- 

 ticular amount of science was apparently applied. She was 

 lightened to the utmost extent; every part of her machinery 

 that could be removed, was so; a second bulk -head was built 

 across her, further from the stern ; and a small steam engine was 



