276 AUSTRALIA CHAP, xi 



possibly attend people in our circumstances. The tide we 

 found had fallen two feet and still continued to fall ; anchors 

 were, however, got out and laid ready for heaving as soon 

 as the tide should rise, but to our great surprise we could 

 not observe it to rise in the least. 



Orders were now given for lightening the ship, which 

 was begun by starting our water and pumping it up ; the 

 ballast was then got up and thrown overboard as well as 

 six of our guns (all that we had upon deck). The seamen 

 worked with surprising cheerfulness and alacrity : no 

 grumbling or growling was to be heard throughout the 

 ship, not even an oath (though the ship was in general as 

 well furnished with them as most in His Majesty's service). 

 By about one o'clock the water had fallen so low that the 

 pinnace touched ground as it lay under the ship's bows ready 

 to take in an anchor. After this the tide began to rise, and 

 as it rose the ship worked violently upon the rocks, so that 

 by two she began to make water, which increased very fast. 

 At night the tide almost floated her, but she made water so 

 fast that three pumps hard worked could only just keep her 

 clear, and the fourth absolutely refused to deliver a drop of 

 water. Now, in my opinion, I entirely gave up the ship, 

 and packing up what I thought I might save prepared 

 myself for the worst. 



The most critical part of our distress now approached ; 

 the ship was almost afloat and everything ready to get her 

 into deep water, but she leaked so fast that with all our 

 pumps we could only just keep her free. If (as was probable) 

 she should make more water when hauled off she must sink, 

 and we well knew that our boats were not capable of carry- 

 ing us all ashore, so that some, probably most of us, must be 

 drowned. A better fate, maybe, than those would have who 

 should get ashore without arms to defend themselves from 

 the Indians or provide themselves with food, in a country 

 where we had not the least reason to hope for subsistence, 

 so barren had we always found it, and, had they even met 

 with good usage from the natives and food to support them, 

 debarred from the hope of ever again seeing their native 



