Imminent Danger of the Ship. 125 
our fweeps- abaft, got the Ihip’s head round to the northward ; 
which, if it could not prevent our deftruction, might at lead: 
delay it. But it was fix o’clock before this was effected, and 
we were not then a hundred yards from the rock upon which 
the fame billow which wafhed the fide of the lhip, broke to a 
tremendous height the very next time it rofe ; fo that between 
us and deftrudtion there was only a dreary valley, no wider 
than the bafe of one wave, and even now the fea under us was 
unfathomable, at lead: no bottom was to be found with an 
hundred and twenty fathom. During this fceneof didrefs the 
carpenter had found means to patch up the pinnace ; fo that 
Ihe was hoiked out, and fent ahead, in aid of the other boats, 
to tow ; but all our efforts would have been ineffedlual, if, juft 
at this crifis of our fate, a light air of wind had not fprung 
up, fo light, that* at any other time we Ihould not have ob- 
ferved it, but which was enough to turn the fcale in our fa- 
vour, and, in conjunction with the afiiftance which was affor- 
ded us by the boats, to give the lhip a perceptible motion ob- 
liquely from the reef. Our hopes now revived ; but in lefs 
than ten minutes it was ag^iin a dead calm, and the lhip was 
again driven towards the breakers, which were not now two 
hundred yards diftance. The fame light breeze however re- 
turned before we had loft: all the ground it had enabled us to 
gain, and lafted about ten minutes more. During this time 
we difcovered a frnall opening in the reef, at about the diftance 
of a quarter of a mile : I immediately fent one of the mates 
to examine it, who reported that its breadth was not more 
than the length of the lhip, but that within it there was 
fmooth water : this aifcovery feemed to render our efcape pof- 
fible, and that was all, by pufning the lhip through the open- 
ing, which was immediately attempted. It was uncertain in- 
deed whether we could reach it ; but if we Ihould fucceed thus 
far, we made no doubt of being able to get through : in this 
however we were difappointed, for having reached it by the 
joint afiiftance of our boats and the breeze, we found chat in 
the mean time it had become high water, and to our^great 
furprize we met the tide of ebb rulhing out of it like a mill- 
llream. We gained however fome advantage, though in a 
manner direftly contrary to our expectations ; we found it im- 
poffible to go through the opening, but the ftteam that pre- 
vented us, carried us about a quarter of a mile : it was too 
narrow for us to keep in it longer ; yet this tide of ebb fo 
much aflifted the boats that by noon we got an offingof near 
two miles. We had, however, reafon to defpair of delive- 
rance, even if the breeze, which had now died away, Ihould 
revive, for we were ftill embayed in the reef ; and the tide of 
ebb being fpent, the tide of flood, notwithftanding our utmoft; 
efforts, again drove the lhip into the bite. About this time, 
JL 3 howeverj 
