Come-to,
snapped the guys, and the swinging boom came in, with a crash,
against the lower rigging. The outhaul block gave way, and the
topmast studding-sail boom bent in a manner which I never before
supposed a stick could bend. I had my eye on it when the guys
parted, and it made one spring and buckled up so as to form nearly
a half circle, and sprang out again to its shape.
The clewline gave way at the first pull; the cleat to which the
halyards were belayed was wrenched off, and the sail blew round
the spritsail yards and head guys, which gave us a bad job to
get it in.
A half hour served to clear all away, and she was suffered to drive
on with her topmast studding-sail set, it being as much as she could
stagger under.
During all this day and the next night, we went on under the same
sail, the gale blowing with undiminished force; two men at the wheel
all the time; watch and watch, and nothing to do but to steer and
look out for the ship, and be blown along; - until the noon of the
next day -
Sunday, July 24th, when we were in latitude 50° 27' S., longitude
62° 13' W., having made four degrees of latitude in the last
twenty-four hours.
