466 



INCIDENTS OP TRAVEL. 



and before we were fifty yards from the b/ig she was 

 half full. "We sat up on the gunwale, and two of the 

 men had as much as they could do to keep her afloat, 

 while we urged the others to pull. Sharks were play- 

 ing around us, and for a few moments we wished to be 

 back on board the old brig. A breeze seemed to strike 

 the vessel, which for two or three minutes kept steadily 

 on ; but, to our great relief, she hove to and took us on 

 board. Our Spanish colours, and our irregular move- 

 ment in attempting to board without hailing, had exci- 

 ted suspicion, and the sailors said we were pirates ; but 

 the captain, a long, cool-headed down-easter, standing 

 on the quarter with both his hands in his pockets, and 

 seeing the sinking condition of our boat, said, " Them's 

 no pirates." The brig was the Helen Maria, of North 

 Yarmouth, Sweetzer, master, from Tobasco, and bound 

 to New- York ! The reader cannot imagine the satis- 

 faction with which I greeted on the high seas a coun- 

 tryman bound for New- York. My first question was 

 whether he could take us on board, next for provisions 

 and water for our friends, and then where we were. 

 He showed us his observation for the day. We were 

 about four hundred miles from the spot we supposed. 

 The current which sets up between Cape Catoche and 

 Cape Antonio the captain had taken for the Gulf Stream. 

 If we had attended to Mr. C.'s chronometer we should 

 not have been far out of the way. As it was, we were 

 perfectly lost ; and if we had not met this vessel, I do not 

 know what would have become of us. The captain 

 was but seven days from Tobasco, with a wind that had 

 carried away one of his sails, and had lost one of his men. 

 He had no surplus of provisions, particularly with two 

 additional passengers ; but he sent on board what he 

 could, and a supply of water. We returned, told the 



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