BAD SAILING OF THE GRIPER. 97 



points^ but at thirty minutes after four, saw 1S24. 

 steep, rocky, and broken land, with many rug- Sept. 

 ged islets oif it, on our larboard bow, to which 

 we must have been SAvept by some very rapid 

 current or indraft ; from its appearance, as 

 it was not continuous to the southward, but 

 trended away westerly, I am led to suppose it 

 to have been Cape Montague, which is said to 

 bound the northern entrance to the " Wager." 

 As the breeze freshened at daylight from 

 the north-east, and we were only in seventeen 

 fathoms, rocky bottom at four miles from the 

 islands, I tacked at five, and made all the sail 

 we could carry, to work out of the indraft. 

 We got but slowly off, for being so much below 

 her bearings, the ship would not stand up under 

 much sail, and towards noon saw Southampton 

 Island to the eastward about eighteen miles. 

 I was, for a time, in hopes of getting under its 

 lee, but the wind soon increased to a gale with 

 cutting showers of sleet, and a sea began to 

 arise. At such a moment as this, we had fresh 

 cause to deplore the extreme dulness of the 

 Griper s sailing, for though almost any other 

 vessel would have worked off this lee shore, 

 we made httle or no progress on a wind, but 

 remained actually pitching forecastle under, 



with scarcely steerage way, to preserve which 



H 



