NARRATIVE 
OF THE LOSS OF THE 
SHIP HERCULES, 
CHAPTER L 
SaJlir?^ of the Ship Hcrcide; frrm Sagar-roads in the pr ev- 
ince of Bengal— Befcrlption of the Tempejl.— Dreadful 
• fitiiation of the fhip> — Second mate and three men ordered 
into the long boat,— Raft prepared. — Carpenter and fail- 
ors addrefs the Captain. — B.emarkahk infance of preju- 
dice and intrepidity in a Lafcar. — The Captain holds a 
co^fdtation ^ivith his officers, — Deter niifies, if pojfihley to 
run the fbip on the eafern coafl of Jfrica. 
HE American fhip Hsp.cu- 
LES, wliich I commanded, 
and wliofe fate will be de- 
fer ibed in the fucceeding 
Narrative, arrived at Ben- 
gal about the month of 
December, 1795. My intention was to takt^ 
in a private freight for Hamburgh, but net 
finding one that wc*ild anfwcr my expecla- 
lions, I chartered my ihip to the Britifli 
D 2 
