182 LOSS OF THE NOTTINGHAM GALLEY. 
would have been of great use to us if we should afterward have 
attempted to construct a raft. Yet we had reason to admire the 
goodness of God in producing our disappointment for our 
safety ; for, that afternoon, the Avind springing up, it blew so 
hard that, had we been at sea in that imitation of a boat, we 
must, in all probability, have perished, and those left behind, 
being unable to help themselves, must doubtless soon have 
shared a similar fate. 
We were now reduced to the most melancholy and deplo- 
rable situation imaginable ; almost every man but myself was 
weak to an extremity, nearly starved with hunger, and pe- 
rishing with cold ; their hands and feet frozen and mortified ; 
large and deep ulcers in their legs, the smell of which was 
highly offensive to those who could not creep into the air, 
and nothing to dress them with but a piece of linen that Avas 
cast on shore. We had no fire ; our small stock of cheese 
was exhausted, and we had nothing to support our feeble bo- 
dies but rockweed and a few muscles, scarce and difficult to 
be procured, at most not above two or three for each man 
a-day ; so that our miserable bodies were perishing, and our 
disconsolate spirits overpowered by the deplorable prospect 
of starvation, without any appearance of relief. To aggra- 
vate our situation, if possible, vv'e had reason to apprehend 
lest the approaching tide, if accompanied with high winds, 
should entirely overflow us. The horrors of such a situation 
it is impossible to describe ; the pinching cold and hunger ; 
extremity of weakness and pain ; racking and horrors of con- 
science in many; and the prospect of a certain, painful, and 
lingering death, Avithout even the most remote A'iews of de- 
liverance ! This is, indeed, the height of misery ; yet such, 
alas ! Avas our deplorable case ; insomuch that the greater 
part of our company AA'ere ready to die of horror and despair. 
For my part I did my utmost to encourage mj^self and ex- 
hort the rest to trust in God, and patiently await their deli- 
verance. Asa slight alleviation of our faith, Providence di- 
rected tOAA-ard our quarters a sea-gull, AA^hich my mate struck 
down and joyfully brought to me. I divided^ it into equal 
portions, and though raw, and scarcely affording a mouthful 
for each, yet Ave received and ate it thankfully. 
The last method of rescuing ourselves aa'c could possibly 
devise, AA-as to construct a raft capable of carry in o- tAA'o men. 
Thi-3 proposal was strongly supported by a Swede, one of our 
men, a stout brave fellow, Avho, since our disaster, had lost 
the use of both his feet by the frost. Fie frequently impor- 
