SHIPWRECK ON THE CORAL REEF. 107 



violence, staving in the exposed side, washing through the 

 hatchways, and tearing up the decks. 



" We Avere now/' observes the officer alluded to, "uncer- 

 tain of our distance from a place of safety: the surf broke 

 over the vessel in a fearful cascade ; the crew despairing 

 and clinging to her sides to avoid its violence, while the ship 

 was breaking up with a rapidity and crashing noise, which, 

 added to the roar of the breakers, dro^vned the voices of the 

 officers. The masts were cut away to ease the ship, and the 

 cutter cleared and launched in readiness. When the long 

 wished-for dawn at length broke upon us, instead of alleviating 

 it rather added to our distress. We found that the ship had 

 run on the south-east extremity of a coral reef, surrounding 

 on the eastern side those sand-banks or islands in the Indian 

 Ocean, called by the natives Carajos; the nearest of these 

 was about three miles distant, but not the least appearance 

 of verdure could be discovered, or the slightest trace of any- 

 thing on which we might hope to subsist. In two or three 

 places some rocks in the shape of pyramids appeared above 

 the rest like distant sails, and were repeatedly cheered as 

 such by the crew, until it was perceived that they had no 

 motion, and the delusion vanished. The masts had fallen 

 towards the reef, the ship having fortunately canted in that 

 direction, and the boat was therefore protected in some 

 measure from the surf. Our commander, whom a strong 

 sense of misfortune had entirely deprived of presence of 

 mind, was earnestly requested to get into the boat, but he 

 would not, thinking it unsafe. He maintained his station on 

 the mizzen-topmast that lay along the wreck, the surf which 

 was rushing round the bow and stern continually overwhelm- 

 ing him. I was myself close to him on the same spar, and 

 in this situation we saw many of our shipmates meet an un- 

 timely end, being either dashed against the rocks or swept 

 away by the breakers. 



*' The large cutter full of officers and men now cleared a 



