278 AUSTRALIA CHAP, xi 



no one else in the ship had seen practised, though all had 

 heard of it by the name of fothering a ship, by means of 

 which he said he had come home from America in a ship 

 which made more water than we did. Nay, so sure was the 

 master of that ship of his expedient that he took her out of 

 harbour knowing how much water she had made, and trusting 

 entirely to it. The midshipman immediately set to work 

 with four or five assistants to prepare his fother, which he 

 did thus. He took a lower studding sail, and having mixed 

 together a large quantity of finely chopped oakum and wool, 

 he stitched it down upon the sail as loosely as possible in 

 small bundles about as big as his fist ; these were ranged in 

 rows four or five inches from each other. This was to be sunk 

 under the ship. The theory of it was that wherever the 

 leak was there must be a great suction which would probably 

 catch hold of one or other of these lumps of oakum and wool 

 and, drawing it in, either partly or entirely stop up the hole. 

 While this work was going on the water rather gained on 

 those who were pumping, which made all hands impatient 

 for the trial. In the afternoon the ship was got under way 

 with a gentle breeze of wind, and stood in for the land. 

 Soon after the fother was finished, and applied by fastening 

 ropes to each corner, then sinking the sail under the ship, 

 and with these ropes drawing it as far backwards as we could. 

 In about a quarter of an hour, to our great surprise, the ship 

 was pumped dry, and upon letting the pumps stand she was 

 found to make very little water, so much beyond our most 

 sanguine expectations had this singular expedient succeeded. 

 At night we came to an anchor, the fother still keeping her 

 almost clear, so that we were in an instant raised from almost 

 despondency to the greatest hopes. We were now almost 

 too sanguine, talking of nothing but of getting her into some 

 harbour where we might lay her ashore and repair her, or 

 if we could not find such a place we little doubted of being 

 able by repeated fotherings to carry her quite to the East 

 Indies. 



During the whole time of this distress, I must say for 

 the credit of our people that I believe every man exerted his 



