In A Few Minutes, The Captains Came Hurrying Down, On The Run;
And There Was No Time To Be Lost, For The Gale Promised To Be A
Severe One, And The Surf Was Breaking Upon The Beach, Three Deep,
Higher And Higher Every Instant.
The Ayacucho's boat, pulled by four
Kanakas, put off first, and as they had no rudder or steering oar,
would probably never have got off, had we not waded out with them,
as far as the surf would permit.
The next that made the attempt was
the whale-boat, for we, being the most experienced "beach-combers,"
needed no help, and staid till the last. Whalemen make the best
boats' crews in the world for a long pull, but this landing was
new to them, and notwithstanding the examples they had had, they
slued round and were hove up - boat, oars, and men - altogether,
high and dry upon the sand. The second time, they filled, and had
to turn their boat over, and set her off again. We could be of no
help to them, for they were so many as to be in one another's way,
without the addition of our numbers. The third time, they got off,
though not without shipping a sea which drenched them all, and half
filled their boat, keeping them baling, until they reached their
ship. We now got ready to go off, putting the boat's head out;
English Ben and I, who were the largest, standing on each side of
the bows, to keep her "head on" to the sea, two more shipping and
manning the two after oars, and the captain taking the steering
oar.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 316 of 618
Words from 86448 to 86724
of 170236
