Feb. 1827. 



SAN ANTONIO LOMAS BAY. 



63 



set we were abreast of Hope Harbour, in which we pur- 

 posed taking shelter from the gale. Our late neighbours, the 

 Indians, had Hghted a fire at the entrance to invite our return ; 

 but wind and tide were against us, and as we knew of no port 

 to leeward, our only resource was to run out of the sound. 

 Furious squalls carried us into the true, or steady, wind, 

 which we found very strong ; and as Fort San Antonio was 

 on the lee-bow, we had to carry such a press of sail, that our 

 excellent boat had nearly half the lee side of her deck under 

 water. By daylight we got into smooth water, and, with less 

 wind and better weather, steered for Port Famine. The 

 smoother water enabled us to light a fire and cook a meal, not 

 an unimportant affair, as we had eaten nothing since six o"*clock 

 on the preceding morning„ 



In our absence Mr. Graves had surveyed Lomas Bay, and, 

 after his return, Mr. Ainsworth had crossed the Strait with the 

 gig and cutter to survey Port San Antonio. They were victualled 

 for five days ; the gig was manned by my own boat's crew, and 

 the cutter by volunteers : but although they had not come back, 

 we felt no anxiety about their safety, being assured that Mr. 

 Ainsworth would not run the risk of crossing the Strait during 

 bad weather. The tempestuous state of the two following days, 

 however, made us uneasy, and on the third morning, when the 

 wind moderated much, we looked out anxiously for their 

 arrival. In the evening the cutter returned ; but, alas ! with 

 the melancholy information of the loss of Mr. Ainsworth, and 

 two seamen, drowned by the upsetting of the gig. One of the 

 latter was my excellent coxswain, John Corkhill. The remain- 

 der of the gig's crew were only rescued from drowning by the 

 strenuous exertions of those in the cutter. 



Mr. Ainsworth, anxious to return to the ship, thought too 

 little of the difficulty and danger of crossing the Strait during 

 unsettled weather. He set out from Port San Antonio under 

 sail, and, while sheltered by the land, did very well ; but as 

 soon as they got into the offing, both wind and sea increased 

 so much that the gig was in great danger, although under only 

 a small close-reefed sail. 



