xxvi 



INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF 



drowsiness which is ever the precursor of death by freezing came 

 over them with almost resistless force, and I knew that he who slept 

 would wake no more. I therefore adopted every method I could think 

 of to arouse their almost dormant faculties, and could only succeed 

 by exciting some turbulent passion. I also compelled them to dip 

 their hands and feet into the water every few minutes, to prevent their 

 freezing any more ; as I, who set the salutary example, escaped the 

 slightest touch of the frost. The moment I felt a sensation of numb- 

 ness in my extremities, I dipped the affected part in the salt water, 

 and the feeling was almost immediately removed. 



On the 3d of December, at nine o'clock, A. M., the gale subsided, 

 and was succeeded by fair weather. We now weighed our floating 

 anchor, the wind having shifted to the south, and again set sail in 

 search of our new island. The course we steered was W.S.W., 

 running at the rate of five miles an hour, until two o'clock the next 

 morning, December 4th ; when, to our unspeakable joy, we found our- 

 selves close in with our little island, which we had left two days before. 

 At four o'clock, A. M., we had the additional pleasure of discovering 

 the schooner to the eastward, steering directly for the island, and at 

 half past six we were once more safe on the bright decks of the Wasp, 

 where my brave boat's crew received the cordial embraces of their 

 sympathizing shipmates. It was necessary, however, that this inter- 

 change of congratulation should be abridged, as my men were much 

 frost-bitten, and quite exhausted for the want of food and rest ; the 

 little bread we had on board the boat being completely soaked with 

 the salt water. 



As respects myself, I was received by the captain and my brother 

 as one risen from the dead. Both of them shed tears of joy, and fer- 

 vently expressed their thanks to Heaven for my deliverance. They 

 had given us up for lost, concluding it impossible that our little boat 

 could weather such a gale, or live an hour in such a sea. Even the 

 schooner had suffered considerably, having part of her bulwark washed 

 away while lying-to in the height of the gale, which split one three- 

 reefed foresail and one balance-reefed mainsail. She had also drifted 

 about ninety miles to the eastward. 



Captain Johnson had seen our boat just as the snow-storm set in, 

 and concluded that we would immediately steer for the land, which 

 was what we vainly attempted to do. At half past ten, P. M., when 

 the snow cleared off for a few minutes, he could discover nothing of 

 us from the masthead ; and finding the gale increasing to such an 

 alarming degree of violence, attended with so rough a sea, he naturally 

 concluded that the boat must have been swamped, and that, as a neces- 

 sary consequence, all hands had perished ; as it seemed to him, he 

 said, " utterly impossible for any boat to live at sea in so violent a 

 gale, with the sea running so high as, at times, almost to bury the 

 schooner." It was nothing, under Providence, but the soft persuasive 

 influence of our sea-dog oil, that partially appeased the angry god of 

 the ocean, and restrained his fury from filling the little bubble of a 

 vessel in which we floated. To the God of gods we gave the praise, 

 for to him alone was it due. 



At eight o'clock, A. M. we once more sat down to a warm breakfast ; 



