Chap. VI. A COOL MAN-OF-WAR'S MAN. 157 
During half-an-hour the ship continued to bump 
heavily. An old man-o '-war's man, who had joined 
us in Plymouth Sound, amused me much by 
his determined sang froid on this occasion. He 
happened to have been in the Pique frigate, on the 
famous voyage which she made across the Atlantic 
without a rudder after striking on a rock on the 
coast of Newfoundland. He was now at the helm ; 
and coolly rolled his quid in his mouth, as he 
related in a low tone the more appalling dangers of 
that adventure, or warned me to keep further from the 
wheel, each time that a bump of the rudder made it 
spin round like the fly-wheel of a steam-engine. " This 
" is only soft sand," said he ; "I 've been bumping on 
" hard rocks for a day and night and no harm done : 
" shear a little further off the wheel, sir, and mind 
" your legs with them chains," — then a bump and 
whir-r-r-r went the wheel — " only soft sand, sir ! " 
as he rolled his quid over, and again handled the 
wheel. " All right, sir," to an inquiring glance from 
the captain as to the feel of the rudder — then another 
great bump, and warning, and whirling, and rolling of 
the quid, and then he resumed his yarn as quietly as if 
nothing were the matter. 
The tide having ebbed, it became impossible that 
the vessel should come off until the next flood. Co- 
lonel Wakefield mustered a crew of volunteers from 
the cabin to pull ashore in the whale-boat which re- 
mained whole, and obtain assistance from the Nava- 
rino, a vessel which we had been told at HoManga 
was loading spars about thirty miles up the river. We 
thus left the most useful men on board, with the long- 
boat and cutter, the two best boats. E TVare^ Sa- 
turday, Mr. Heaphy, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Dorset, and 
myself were to pull at the oars, thus having one spare 
