BLIGH AND HIS CREW. 39 
out of danger. At daylight they saw the 
reefs over which the sea broke furiously. 
Steering along the edge of it, an opening was 
observed, through which the boat passed. 
They were then in smooth water ; they tried to 
catch fish, and all their past hardships seemed 
to be forgotten. It occurred to Bligh, that 
they were within a few miles of Providential 
Channel. A small island within the reefs, 
he named, Island of Direction, as it served 
to show the entrance of the channel to which 
they had been conducted. At this happy 
period, he wrote, "We now returned God 
thanks for His gracious protection ; and with 
much content took our miserable allowance 
of a twenty-fifth of a pound of bread, and 
a quarter of a pint of water for dinner." 
They had the advantage of using frequently 
a devout and suitable prayer to God, which 
had been drawn up by their commander, 
partly from the Prayer-Book. This form of 
prayer, which is in Mr. Bligh's handwriting, 
in the manuscript book alluded to, includes 
an humble confession of sins on the part of 
those who were suffering under the Divine 
chastisement, invokes the Almighty's protec- 
