346 NORTH SEA FISHERS AND FIGHTERS 



very little progress was made. Two days before 

 Christmas a heavy north-westerly gale was met off the 

 Jutland coast, and the ships were thrown into helpless 

 confusion. 



The crippled St. George was again mostly skilfully 

 and nobly handled ; but it was soon evident that she 

 would be worsted in the fight. The makeshift rudder 

 was wrenched away, and all through the night the 

 wounded giant was hurled about by merciless seas. 



On the dark morning before Christmas Day a gun 

 was heard from the Defence, which was believed to have 

 gone ashore about two and a half miles away. It was a 

 knell of death which might almost have heralded the 

 flagship's doom, for almost immediately she struck, and 

 it was known that nothing could save her this time. 



There was ten feet of water in the hold, and so 

 rapidly did the sea gain on the pumps that in thirty 

 minutes it reached the lower deck and the people were 

 driven to seek refuge on the main-deck. By ten o'clock 

 in the morning the survivors had been forced from the 

 main-deck to the poop, and there, huddled together, swept 

 ceaselessly by bitter seas, they awaited, with what forti- 

 tude they could, the coming of the inevitable end. With 

 the exception of a yawl, every boat had been smashed 

 to pieces by the waves, or carried overboard. Hopeless 

 though the effort seemed, yet a few men volunteered to 

 try and get to land in the yawl. Permission was given 

 to try, but it was withdrawn, as it was considered im- 

 possible that the boat could live. 



Seven hundred and fifty officers and men had sailed 

 from Gottenberg in the flagship ; but of that great 

 number many had been swept away, others drowned on 



