VOL. LXXXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 1Q5 



after this she drifted over the sand-bank, into what he called a " swash" on the 

 other side. Here she floated, and they let go their best bower anchor, but it 

 dragged, and the vessel struck again in a few minutes on another bank. In this 

 situation she lay some time, beating against the sand, and the sea breaking over 

 her. In a little while Mr. Amyat saw the tar barrels, which formed her cargo, 

 floating towards the land, and soon after the bottom parted entirely, and was 

 carried in the same direction. Happily for the men, the part of the wreck on 

 which they were lashed was held by the anchor, and floated in the water, a small 

 portion of the after part of the quarter-deck being above the surface. On this 

 sat the 2 masters, generally out of the sea, but frequently overwhelmed by the 

 surge, and at other times exposed to heavy showers of sleet and snow, and to a 

 high and piercing wind. The temperature of the air, as nearly as can be guessed, 

 was from 30° to 33° of Fah. and that of the sea, from trials in similar circum- 

 stances, from 38° to 40°. Immediately before the 2 masters was Mr. Amyat 

 himself. As he was sitting, and the deck sloped pretty rapidly, he was generally 

 up to the middle in the water. The situation of the rest may be supposed ; 

 some of them were up to the shoulders. They were not at any time able to 

 change their position, but kept their legs in pretty constant motion to counteract 

 the cold, their arms being employed in holding by the wreck. 



The master of the ship, Capt. Scott, a native of North Carolina, and about 

 40 years of age, died first. As they were in the dark, Mr. Amyat could not see 

 his countenance ; but he was first alarmed by hearing him talk incoherently, like 

 one in the delirium of fever. By degrees his voice dwindled into a mutter, and 

 his hearing seemed to fail. At length he raised himself up in a sort of convul- 

 sive motion, in which he continued a few seconds, and then fell back dead on 

 the deck. This happened about 8 in the evening : 4 hours after the ship went 

 aground. Soon after this, Capt. Davison, who was about 28, began to talk in- 

 coherently, in the same manner as the other. He struggled longer, but died in 

 the same way, at about 1 1 at night. The cook died in the forenoon of the 

 succeeding day. He was a low-spirited man, and desponded from the beginning. 

 All the rest held out, as has been already mentioned, though sorely pinched 

 with cold and hunger, till they were taken up about 3 in the afternoon. Mr. 

 Amyat said that his hands and feet were swelled and numb, though not abso- 

 lutely senseless ; he felt a tightness at the pit of his stomach, and his mouth 

 and lips were parched ; but what distressed him most was cramps in the muscles 

 of his sides and hips, which were drawn into knots. Though immersed in the 

 sea, they were all of them very thirsty ; and though exposed to such severe cold, 

 Mr. Amyat himself was not drowsy, nor were any of the men drowsy, nor did 

 sleep precede death in those that perished. These facts are curious. 



Reflecting on the particulars of this melancholy story, there seemed no doubt 



c c 2 



