274 ACCIDENT ON THE ISLAND. 
the island. The magistrate, Matthew M c Coy, 
and two others, went to load an old gun that 
had been in the Bounty, to salute the Virago, 
on her departure. It appears that the ram- 
mer he used was an old rafter, on the top of 
whieh was a nail. While in the act of 
ramming home the powder, the friction caused 
by the nail effected the explosion of the 
powder. Matthew was blown away, several 
yards from the gun, and his arm knocked 
to pieces. The two others were severely 
wounded, together with an awful shock to all 
of them. I was at my house at the time, 
having just dined, and ran down, thinking it 
was the Virago's gun fired, as a farewell. Of 
course I found out what it was ; and, by the 
time I got them conveyed to the nearest house, 
the surgeons of the steamer arrived. 
" After two or three hours, Matthew's arm 
was amputated, and the doctor said, if he 
recovered the shock he would do very well ; 
but I am sorry to say, that, after lingering 
eight hours in great agony, though sensible, 
he died. He was not only one of the best 
men on the island, but, I am happy to say, 
one of the best prepared for death. The 
