62 THE WHALEMAN ; OR, 



on the wreck were exposed every moment to a 

 watery grave. 



At length, the steerage boy lowered himself 

 down from the bow, and with manly efforts 

 sought to gain the land. He was immediately 

 swept away, and was never seen after. About 

 this time, many began to crawl down on the 

 mainmast, still lying in the direction of the 

 shore. In working their way along on the mast, 

 their progress was not only slow, but they were 

 chilled, benumbed with cold, their clothes thor- 

 oughly wet to their backs, and the sea at the 

 same time flying over them. It was with the 

 greatest difficulty they could hold on. The sight 

 was a most affecting one. It was a period of 

 painful anxiety. How many of these seamen 

 will be saved ? — how many will be lost ? 



While attempting thus to escape upon the 

 mast, the advancing or the returning waves 

 would frequently wash numbers off, and then 

 they would struggle with all their energies to 

 regain the mast or the rigging; while those who 

 were more fortunate, and had retained their hold, 

 would aid them as far as possible in getting on 

 to the mast again. It was a most trying and 

 heart-rending scene. 



The captain and Mr. Fisher were on the quar- 

 ter deck, and observed a part of a boat hanging 



