FIRST CRUISE OF THE "BASILISK" 357 



When, at length, they had begun to believe that their troubles 

 were about to end, the ship struck (on 26th February, before daylight) 

 on BRAMBLE REEF, on the south side of Rockingham Bay. (SEE MAP 

 K.) The Captain, taking six men, according to the information 

 given to Sabben, deserted the ship with the best boat (which would 

 have held twenty) in the early morning, under the pretence of 

 going for assistance, Cardwell being about 30 miles to the west. 

 This boat's crew landed at TAM O' SHANTER POINT, where the Captain 

 and three of his men met their death at the hands of the natives. 

 The three survivors (who had only dared to travel by night) crawled 

 into Cardwell some days afterwards. Sabben at once took the gig 

 and hurried (4th~5th March) to Tarn O' Shanter Point, with two 

 of his own men and six volunteers from Cardwell. They found 

 the CAPTAIN'S BOAT drawn up into the scrub, where preparations 

 had been made to burn her. The party, who had been without 

 food for twelve hours, hauled the boat to the water and had 

 begun to cook a meal on shore, when they were suddenly RUSHED 

 BY 1 20 NATIVES, who emerged from the mangroves, armed with 

 spears. The assailants were beaten off, with a loss of eight killed 

 and eight wounded. The gig then returned to Cardwell, with 

 the Captain's boat. 



Almost simultaneously with the departure of the gig from 

 Cardwell, MR. BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, Police Magistrate, chartered 

 the small steamer " linonee" which visited the scene of the 

 wreck ; but nothing was to be seen of the " Maria" even her masts 

 having sunk. 



The fact that the Captain left the ship secretly and before 

 daybreak certainly favours the theory of desertion, but as his death 

 deprived him of an opportunity of explaining his conduct, it is 

 charitable to surmise that he wished to avoid a panic and that he 

 hoped to organise a speedy rescue from Cardwell ; in short, that 

 he only added one more to the numerous errors of judgment 

 which he had already made. 



When the absence of the Captain and the boat was discovered, 

 the mate, who took charge, had two RAFTS constructed. These 

 had barely been launched when the ship heeled over, slipped from 

 the reef, and sunk to her lower yards. Thirteen men scrambled 

 into the larger raft and twelve into the smaller, while some clung 

 to the rigging of the ship. At this critical moment, there were 

 only two boats belonging to the ship, and one of them was pursuing 

 the other, which had broken adrift. Both boats then returned 

 to the ship and took as many men as could be accommodated, leaving 

 nine clinging to the rigging. The BOATS then made for the nearest 

 land, 1 5 miles distant ; but it was five days before they reached 

 Cardwell, a devious course having probably been forced upon them 

 by the weather ; or perhaps the occupants of the boats may have 

 been unaccustomed to navigation and unprovided with charts 



