/ 
300 TRAVELS THROUGH UPPER CANADA : 
to the vessel, he immediately gave orders to 
slip the cable, and hoist the jib, in order to wear 
the vessel round, and thus get free, if possible, 
of the shore. In the hurry and confusion of 
the moment, however, the mainsail was hoisted 
at the same time with the jib, the vessel was 
put aback, and nothing could have saved her 
from going at once on shore but the letting 
fall another anchor instantaneously. I can 
only account for this unfortunate mistake by 
supposing that the men were not sufficiently 
roused from their slumbers, on coming upon 
deck, to hear distinctly the word of com¬ 
mand. Only one man had been left to keep 
the watch, as it was thought that the vessel 
was riding in perfect safety, and from the 
time that the alarm was first given until the 
anchor was dropped, scarcely four minutes 
elapsed. 
The dawn of day only enabled us to see all 
the danger of our situation. We were within 
one hundred yards of a rocky lee shore, and 
depending upon one anchor, which, if the gale 
increased, the captain feared very much would 
not hold. The day was wet and squally, and 
the appearance of the sky gave us every rea¬ 
son to imagine that the weather instead of 
growing moderate, would become still more 
tempestuous than it either was or had been ; 
nevertheless, buoyed up by hope, and by a 
