THE SEA. 



against the " smoke-stack " (funnel) of the steamer, knocking it overboard. The guys, 

 or chains by which it had been held upright, were snapped, and it went to the bottom. 

 Here was a dilemma ; the engines were rendered nearly useless, and a few hours later 

 were made absolutely powerless, for the rudder became disabled, and the steering-wheel 

 was utterly unavailable. During this period a very curious circumstance happened ; the 

 sea driving faster than the vessel itself a log lying in the trough of the waves, which 

 rose in mountains on all sides acted on the screw in such a manner that in its turn it 

 worked the engines at a greater rate than they had ever attained by steam ! After much 

 trouble the couplings were disconnected, but for several hours the jarring of the machinery 

 revolving at lightning speed threatened to make a breach in the stern. 



No one on board will soon forget the night of that great gale. The vessel, scarcely 

 larger than a " penny " steamer, and having tf guards/' or bulwarks, little higher than 

 the rail of those boats, was engulfed in the tempestuous waters. It seemed literally 

 to be driving under the water. Waves broke over it every few minutes ; a rope had 

 to be stretched along the deck for the sailors to hold on by, while the brave com- 

 mander, Captain Marston, was literally tied to the aft bulwark, where, half frozen and 

 half drowned, he remained at his post during an entire night. The steamer had the 

 "house on deck/' so common in American vessels. It was divided into state-rooms, 

 very comfortably fitted, but had doors and windows of the lightest character. At the 

 commencement of the gale, these were literally battered to pieces by the waves dashing 

 over the vessel; it was a matter of doubt whether the whole house might not be carried 

 off bodily. The officers of the expedition took refuge in the small cabin aft, which had 

 been previously the general ward-room of the vessel, where the meals were served. A 

 great sea broke over its skylight, smashing the glass to atoms, putting out the lamps and 

 stove, and filling momentarily the cabin with about three feet of water. A landsman 

 would have thought his last hour had come. But the hull of the vessel was sound ; the 

 pumps were in good order, and worked steadily by a " donkey " engine in the engine-room, 

 and the water soon disappeared. The men coiled themselves up that night amid a pile of 

 ropes and sails, boxes, and miscellaneous matters lying on the " counter " of the vessel, i.e., 

 that part of the stern lying immediately over the rudder. Next morning, in place of 

 the capital breakfasts all had been enjoying fish and game from Kamchatka, tinned fruits 

 and meats from California, hot rolls and cakes the steward and cook could only, with 

 great difficulty, provide some rather shaky coffee and the regular " hard bread " (biscuit) 

 of the ship. 



The storm increased in violence ; it was unsafe to venture on deck. The writer's 

 room-mate. M. Laborne, a genial and cultivated man of the world, who spoke seven 

 languages fluently, sat down, and wrote a last letter to his mother, enclosing it 

 afterwards in a bottle. "It will never reach her," said poor Laborne, with tears dimming 

 his eyes ; " but it is all I can do." Each tried to comfort the other, and prepare 

 for the worst. "If we are to die, let us die like men," said Adjutant Wright. "Come 

 down in the engine-room," another said, "and if we've got to die, let's die 

 decently." The chief engineer lighted a fire on the iron floor below the boilers, and 

 it was the only part of the vessel which was at all comfortable. Noble-hearted 





