474 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



nous perirons ! ' and 'AUons a terra ! 

 Allans ci terre ! ' As I found Mr. 

 Bridge the only one who seemed 

 to have retained any presence of 

 mind, we consulted, and agreed to 

 send two of the inen with a candle 

 up the bank, in order to examine 

 if it had sepaiated from the island, 

 a circumstance that we suspected, 

 from hearing the snapping of the 

 limbs of some drift trees, which 

 were deposited betwixt the margin 

 of the river, and the summit of 

 the bank. Tiie men, on arriving 

 at the edge of the river, cried out 

 • Fenez a terre ! Venez a terre ! anti 

 told us there was a chasm formed 

 already, so wide that it would be 

 difficult to pass it, to attain the 

 firm ground. 1 ordered ihem to 

 go upon the island and make a 

 tire, and desired Mi\ Bridge and 

 the patron to follow them ; and 

 as it now occurred to me that the 

 preservation of liie boat in a great 

 measure depended on the depth of 

 the rivei', 1 tried witii a sounding 

 pole, and to my great joy, found 

 it did not exceed eigiit or ten feet. 

 " Immediately after the shock we 

 noticed the time, and found it w.as 

 near two o'clock. It was now 

 nearly half past, and I determined 

 to go ashore myself, after securing 

 some papers and money, and was 

 employed in taking them out of 

 my trunks, when another shock 

 came on, teriible indeed, but not 

 equal to the first. Morin, our 

 pation, called out fi om the island, 

 ' Monsieur liradburij .' sanvrz vous, 

 saitvez vous /' I went ashore, and 

 found the cliasm really fiiglitful, 

 as it was not less th;.n four feet in 

 width, and besides the bank ha<l 

 sunk at least two feet. 1 took the 

 candle, and examined to defer- 

 niine its ]oni',ili, and concluded 



tliat it could not be less than 

 eighty yards ; and where it ter- 

 minated at each end, the banks 

 had fallen into the I'iver. I now 

 saw clearly that our lives had been 

 saved by having moored to a slop- 

 ing bank. Before we had com- 

 pleted oiu' fire, we had two moie 

 shocks, and they occurred during 

 the whole night, at intervals of 

 fiom six to ten minutes, but slight 

 in comparison with the first and 

 second. At four o'clock 1 took a 

 candle, and again examined the 

 bank, and found fo my great sa- 

 tisfaction that no material altera- 

 tion had taken place ; . I also found 

 tlie boat safe, and secured my 

 pocket compass. I had already 

 noticed that t!ie sound which was 

 heard at the time of every shock, 

 always j)iecedcd it at least a se- 

 cond, and that it always proceeded 

 from the same point, and went off 

 in an opposite direction. I now 

 found that the shock came from a 

 little northward of east, and pro- 

 ceeded to the westward. At day- 

 light we had counted twenty-seven 

 shocks, during our stay on the 

 island, but still found the chasm 

 so that it miglit be passed. The 

 liver was covered with foam and 

 drift timijer, and had risen con- 

 siderably, but our boat Wiis safe. 

 Whilst we were waiting till the 

 light became sufficient for us to 

 embark, two canoes floated down 

 the river, in one of which we could 

 lierceive some Indian corn and 

 some clothes. \Ve considered this 

 as a melancholy proof that some 

 of tlie boats we jiassed the pre- 

 ceding day had perished. Our 

 conjectures were afterwards con- 

 firmed, ai three had been over- 

 whelmed, and all on board perish- 

 ed. When the (hw-light appeared 



to 



