44 
pumps with as much alacrity and perse- 
verance as if they had encountered, before, 
neither apprehension nor fatigue. To their 
unceasing labours I owe in a great measure 
the preservation of my people. 
The shift of wind which threw the ship 
into the trough of sea and tore away the 
rudder was fortunately but a squall of short 
duration, not continuing above a quarter of 
an hour. Had it lasted but a little longer, 
the ship must have been torn to pieces. 
The wind came round to its former quarter, 
and moderated gradually. 
After the long boat had been delivered 
to the care of my second mate, and the 
raft completed, I held a consultation with 
my officers, and they were all decidedly of 
opinion, that it was impossible to save the 
ship, and that we had no other chance to 
preserve our lives than to make the land, 
and run her on shore. 
The people, when informed of the issue 
of this consultation, appeared to work with 
renovated spirits. We kept up this dispo- 
sition by assuring them we should soon be 
within sight of land, and that by constantly 
