194 THE SEA. 



her immense rudder, which was swaying to and fro in a most dangerous manner. The 

 officers and men, however, went to work with a will, and by one o'clock the next morning 1 

 all was made snug again, and the squadron proceeded on its voyage. During this portion 

 of the trip, a line of communication was established between the Bermuda and the Warrior, 

 and almost daily presents of fresh meat and vegetables were sent by the officers of the 

 ironclad to their unknown comrades on board the dock. On the 9th, the day following 

 the disaster to the rudder, they fell in with the north-east trade winds, which formed the 

 subject of great rejoicing. Signals were made to make all sail, and reduce the quantity 

 of coal burned in the boilers of the four steam vessels. The next day, the Lapwing, 

 being shorter of coal than the others, she was ordered to take the place of the Terrible, the 

 latter ship now taking the lead by towing the Black Prince. The Lapwing, however, 

 proved not to be sufficiently powerful for this service. A heavy sea springing up, 

 the dock began to yaw and behave so friskily that the squadron once more brought to, 

 and the old order of things was resumed. 



On the 25th the Lapwing was sent on ahead to Bermuda to inform the authorities of 

 the close advent of the dock. It was now arranged that as the Terrible drew less water 

 than any of the other ships, she should have the honour of piloting the dock through the 

 Narrows a narrow, tortuous, and shallow channel, forming the only practicable entrance 

 for large ships to the harbour of Bermuda. On the morning of the 28th, Bermuda light- 

 house was sighted, and the Spitfire was shortly afterwards picked up, having been sent 

 by the Bermudan authorities to pilot the squadron as far as the entrance of the Narrows. 

 She also brought the intelligence that it had been arranged that the Viper and the 

 Vixen had been ordered to pilot the dock into harboiir. As they neared Bermuda, the 

 squadron were met by the naval officer in charge of the station, who, after having had 

 interviews with the captains of the squadron and of the Bermuda, rescinded the order 

 respecting the Vixen and the Viper, and the Terrible was once more deputed to tow the 

 Bermuda through the Narrows. Just off the mouth of this dangerous inlet, the Bermuda 

 being in tow of the Terrible only, the dock became uncontrollable, and would have done 

 her best to carry Her Majesty 's ship to Halifax had not the Warrior come to her aid, 

 after the Spitfire and Lapwing had tried ineffectually to be of assistance. 



By this time, however, the water in the Narrows had become too low for the 

 Warrior; the Bermuda had, therefore, to wait until high water next morning in order to 

 complete the last, and, as it proved, the most perilous part of her journey. After the 

 Warrior and the Terrible had towed the dock through the entrance of the inlet, the first- 

 named ship cast off. The dock once more became unmanageable through a sudden gust 

 of wind striking her on the quarter. Had the gust lasted for only a few seconds longer, 

 the dock would have stranded perhaps for ever. She righted, however, and the Terrible 

 steaming hard ahead, she passed the most dangerous point of the inlet, and at last rode 

 securely in smooth water, within a few cables' length of her future berth, after a singularly 

 successful voyage of thirty-six days. 



It says much for the naval and engineering skill of all concerned in the transport of 

 this unwieldy mass of iron, weighing 8,000 tons, over nearly 4,000 miles of ocean, with- 

 out the loss of a single life, or, indeed, a solitary accident that can be called serious. The 



