1842.] A Sixth Memoir on the Law of Storms in India. 607 



supercargoes there, a tiffoon came on, which had very near demolished 

 us. 



" At four in the afternoon our best bower cable parted, and the ship 

 cast in shore, but by setting all the sail I could, I just weared her 

 clear of the land ; and as the wind was then E. N. E. we stood out to 

 the southward under our courses, and at six had the Ladrones 

 bearing N. E. At eight the wind flew round to S. E. and blew the 

 hardest gale I ever remember. We were then in twenty fathoms 

 water, and not being able to make any more way out, our sails all 

 blowing to pieces, we looked upon our destruction as inevitable, with- 

 out a particular act of providence; for we were driving on a lee-shore. 

 At twelve at night the wind flew to the south, its violence still con- 

 tinuing, and we found the ship shoaling her water, so that every 

 soul on board was preparing for death. At daylight we were in 

 twelve fathoms water, with the sea, which was as much mud as water, 

 breaking entirely over us ; we then threw some of our guns overboard, 

 and cut away the main and mizen masts, and by the time we had 

 cleared them we were in three fathoms water, the land only about a 

 quarter of a mile distant. We immediately cut away the fore-yard 

 and let go the sheet anchor, which, by the mercy of God, brought us 

 up; and as the ship touched the ground abaft it eased her to the 

 cable, or I am well assured the Royal George's anchors and cables 

 would not have held her. We then instantly let go our spare anchor 

 with a new cable, which parted as we were veering it out, so that we 

 had no other left. About nine in the morning the gale abated. In 

 the evening we hove up our sheet anchor, when we found the cable 

 stranded. What saved the ship was the having all our guns housed, 

 her ports in, and top-gallant masts down on deck, before the gale 

 came on. Our drift in the gale was amazing. 



fk I imagined it at first only about fifty miles, but to my astonishment 

 when the gale was over, I found myself as low down as Haynan, 

 within the westernmost island, about 3 leagues from the continent. 

 I must have passed in the night quite close to a rock that bore S. by 

 W. when the ship brought up. The Chinese told me that every 

 vessel that was that night at sea perished except mine, and that they 

 had lost all their junks and boats round the whole country, and were 

 certain not less than 100,000 people had perished in the storm. 



