On the Rocks of Resolution. 177 



Under the pressure of this movement, the ship careened partly over 

 on her side, and grated heavily upon the rocks. For a moment it 

 seemed that her entire bottom was upon the rocks, and the wildest 

 excitement prevailed. The idea, fortunately in error, that the tide 

 was ebbing, seemed to seize all on board. Had this been correct, 

 and had we been unable to get off the rocks at once, the most serious 

 consequences would have undoubtedly followed. The tide has a 

 rise and fall of about thirty feet at the place, and, as it was then 

 about flood, the Neptune in a few hours would have been left high 

 and dry. Besides, a fresh breeze was springing up from the north- 

 west, the water had already become quite lumpy, and heavy swells 

 were making their appearance, sending their spray, now and then, 

 over the ship's rails. To be held on the rocks in this Condition for 

 any considerable length of time might result in shipwreck. Happily, 

 however, the tide had not reached its full flood, and had about an 

 hour yet to rise ; moreover the diligence and skill of Capt. Sopp and 

 his active crew were crowned with success. After grinding, and 

 twisting and careening on the rocks for a little under eight minutes- 

 the Neptune was gotten off, and began to move away from the shore ; 

 but not until pieces of her keel, some three and four feet long, 

 came to the surface of the water, inicadting the severity of the 

 struggle that had been going on beneath us. 



It would be difficult to describe our feelings while we were 

 struggling to get free from the rocks ; but still harder the task of 

 telling how we felt with the first evidences of liberty. The former 

 brought to us, in the swiftness of thought, pictures of a winter's 

 hardships on Resolution Island, with insufficient shelter, without 

 adequate clothing, and with no readily available means of communi- 

 cating our condition to the people of Canada ; the latter swelled our 

 hearts with a mighty pulsation of thanksgiving for deliverance 

 from anticipated horrors. 



The Neptune lost no time in getting away from the land into deep 

 water again ; all h andsbreathed much easier ; and there was a dispo- 

 sition shown, I think, by the commander of the ship, to get away from 

 the island altogether. This was not acted upon at the time, how- 

 ever, for we coasted along toward Cape Best, and by noon were 

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