LOSS OF AN ENGLISH SLOOP. 119 
her crew of sixteen persons, while it was impossible for us 
even to perceive their disaster, or to endeavor to pick them up. 
The pity with which their melancholy fate inspired us was 
soon diverted to ourselves, by the apprehensions of new dan- 
ger. The sea ran very high, the snow fell excessively thick, 
the cold was insupportable, and the whole crew a prey to de- 
jection. Thus situated, the mate exclaimed that we could 
not be far from the Magdalen Islands, a confused heap of 
rocks, some of which raise their heads above the sea, while 
others are concealed beneath the surface of the water, and 
have proved fatal to a great number of vessels. In less than 
two hours we heard the waves breaking with great violence 
upon those rocks, and soon afterward discovered the princi- 
pal island, called the Dead Man, which we with difficulty 
avoided. Our apprehensions of danger were not the less 
alarming, amidst a multitude of rocks which there was little 
probability of escaping with the same good fortune ; as the 
snow, which fell faster than ever, scarcely suffered us to see 
from one end of the ship to the other. It would be difficult 
to describe the consternation and horror with which we were 
seized during the whole of this passage. But when we had 
cleared it, a ray of hope dawned upon the hearts of the sea- 
men, Avho, upon considering the danger they had just escaped, 
no longer doubted the interposition of Providence in their 
favor, and redoubled their efforts with new ardor. 
The sea became more turbulent during the night, and at 
five o'clock the next morning a prodigious wave broke over 
the ship, staved in her ports, and filled the cabin : the impe- 
tuosity of the waves having driven in the stern-post, we en- 
deavored to stop the apertures with beef cut in slices, but this 
feeble expedient proved ineffectual, and the water continued 
to gain upon us more rapidly than ever. The affrighted crew 
had suspended, for a moment, the working of the pumps ; 
when they were about to resume their labors they found them 
frozen so hard that it was impossible to work them afterward. 
From that moment we lost all hope of saving the ship, 
and all our wishes were confined to her keeping above water, 
at least till Ave reached St. John's, or some other island in 
the gulf, where we might be able to land with the aid of our 
boat. 
Being left at the mercy of the wind, we durst not perform 
any manceuvre, for fear of giving some dangerous shock to 
the vessel. The weight of water, which was increasing every 
minute, retarded her progress, and the more rapid waves, 
