toss OF THE HERCULBS* 
LOSS OF THE AMERICAN SHIP HERCULE&V 
CAPTAIN BENJAMIN STOUT* 
On, the Coast of Caffraria^ the IGlh June, 1796. 
The account of tbe fate of the AmeriGan ship Hercules^ 
(and of the adventures and sufierings of her crew,) which set 
out on her voyage from Bengal in the month of December, 
1795, involves so much interest as cannot fail to prove ex- 
tremely interesting ; nor can it be. better detailed than from 
the account given by the commander. Captain Benjamift 
Stout, whose intention it was to take in a private freight for 
Hamburgh, but not finding one that would ansAver his expec- 
tations, he chartered his ship to the British East India Com- 
pany, who were at that time busily employed in shipping rice 
for England. Intelligence having reached the settlements in 
India that a failure of corn throughout the whole of Great 
Britain was likely to produce a famine, the most active and 
laudable exertions Avere made in India to supply the markets 
at home with rice ; and he received on board upward of nine 
thousand bags,, with directions to proceed to London with 
every possible despatch. The crew, most of whom ha\ing 
been engaged in India, consisted of Americans, Danes, 
Swedes, Dutch, Portuguese, but chiefly Lascars, amounting 
ill the whole, men and boys, to about sixty-four. The neces- 
sary arrangement far the voyage being completed, they sail- 
ed from Sagar Roads on the 17th March, 1796. 
Nothing material occurred during the voyage until the 1st 
of June follovv'ing, at which time the}" reached the latitude of 
about 85 south, and 28 40 east longitude. It then began to 
blov/ a gale from the westward, which obliged them to lay to 
under their mizen stay sail for six days. During this time the 
gale continued to blow from the west, but increased progres- 
sively until the 7th, when the contention of the sea and winds 
presented a scene of horror of which perhaps the annals of 
marine history give us no example. " Although bred to the 
sea (says Captain Stout) from my ear]i(st life, yet all I had 
ever seen before, all I had ever heard of or read, gave me no 
adequate idea of those sublime effects v.'hich the violence and 
raging of the elements produce, and which, at this tremendous 
hour, seemed to threaten nature itself witli dissolution.'' The 
