in its hull, and then slowly settled toward the bottom as 

 its frightened passengers crowded to the upper decks. 



There must have been an insane dash for the few 

 small boats which had already been launched. There was 

 violence, no doubt, as passengers and crew fought to 

 secure places in them. 



Meanwhile, the admiral, knowing he had failed in his 

 last eflForts to save his ship, must have puzzled how to pre- 

 serve what he could of the treasure in his charge. 



In the end, when the ship finally foundered, its prow 

 sinking to the sandy bottom eight fathoms below, carrying 

 with it many of the doomed passengers as well as a large 

 share of the gold and silver stored in its hold, its stern 

 wedged between two of the flat reefs, assuming a crazy 

 angle against the sky, it was said the admiral had given 

 orders for some of the most valuable chests and plate, 

 which had been stored in his own quarters, to be placed 

 on the flat surfaces of the nearby reefs, in hopes that they 

 could be salvaged later. 



As daylight appeared, some of the survivors set about 

 fashioning rafts and floats from what materials they could 

 salvage. Standing up to their waists, even to their necks, 

 in water, they labored, for there was little room left on the 

 slanting decks, littered with wreckage where the poop 

 deck protruded from the surface. 



What a holocaust! One by one the boats and rafts had 

 taken off, the lucky ones aboard beating off the clutching 

 hands of those in the water who had no other means of 

 rescue. They headed south, most of these makeshift rafts, 

 so heavily laden it was doubtful if any of them could sur- 

 vive in the open sea. No one knew exactly where the 

 Nuestra Senora had gone aground. The pilots insisted 

 they were on the reefs of Anegada, between Puerto Rico 

 and Hispaniola, but the admiral declared they were still 



260 Sea Diver 



