porter's journal. 



201 



About 8 o'clock ia the evening, after much ditikuitj, the 

 ship got out of the Bay. Shortly after, Ronsford, one of 

 the men who guarded lieut. Gamble, fired olf one of the 

 pistols, the ball passing nearly in a horizontal direction, 

 just below the ankle of the latter, through his left heel : 

 whether by accident or design, lieut. Gamble could not 

 ascertain ; but the act had no sooner been perpetrated, 

 than several muskets were pointed at him, through the 

 skylight, and nothing but the expostulations of the guard 

 prevented their contents from being lodged in him. At 

 9, the maintopsail was backed, and the officers were in- 

 formed that a boat was in readiness to receive them. 

 Lieut. Gamble expostulated with them upon the wanton 

 barbarity of turning him into an open boat, without arms 

 and ammunition to defend himself against the natives ; 

 and, after a few moments' consultation, they agreed to 

 furnish him with two muskets, and a keg of cartridges. 

 Midshipmen Feltus and Clapp, Wiiham Worth, and Rich- 

 ard Sansbury, had already entered the boat, and in passing 

 over the deck, lieut. Gamble found each man armed with 

 a musket and a pair of pistols. Their situation in the boat 

 did not tend much to lessen the misfortunes by which they 

 were surrounded. They were at least three miles frona 

 the entrance of the Bay — the boat was half full of water — 

 midshipman Clapp was employed incessantly in baling — 

 and, although weakened by the loss of blood, and enduring 

 great pain from his wound, Heut. Gamble was under the 

 necessity of steering, while the remaining three exerted 

 themselves at the oars. After toiling two hours, however, 

 they had the good fortune to reach the Greenwich, and 

 found on board her Ross and Burdenelle, two of the tra- 

 ders, who resided near the Bay. These men represented, 

 that Wilson, the interpreter, was the chief instigator of all 

 that had happened ; that he had assured the natives, they 

 had now nothing to fear from the Americans, as they were 

 destitute of arms and ammunition. Having passed a rest- 

 less night, lieut. Gamble and his party employed them- 

 selves, during the whole of the 8th, in removing the sails, 

 and other articles of value, from the Greenwich to the Sir 

 Andrew Hammond, and in making preparations to embark 

 the remainder of the property on shore. The natives 

 already began to plunder, and Worth had the misfortune to 



TOL. II. 26 



