"I shall not attempt to describe the appearance of so many men, with certain and almost instant death staring them in the face: but I cannot forbear observing, that those whom I ever considered the greatest reprobates now became the greatest cowards, and were so overcome by their awful situation, that they were totally unable to exert themselves for their own perservation. We had no hopes of deliverance. The prize was, indeed, in company, and we kept firing guns to inform her of our danger. It was, however, absolutely impossible for us to receive any assistance from that quarter; and if our firing enabled her to escape herself it was as much as we could expect. That nothing on our part might be left untried, the sails were hove aback, and, with the Divine assistance, the ship backed astern, clear of the danger.
"Our joy on this occasion was, however, of short duration, for the ship made so much water, that in half an hour it reached as high as the orlop deck; and the rudder having lost all command, there appeared to be no other chance of saving our lives than by running for the coast of France. Accordingly, having got her head round to the eastward, we made all the sail we could. We had now sufficient employment for all hands, some were busy at the pumps, others were engaged in throwing the guns overboard, and otherwise lightening the ship; while others, again, were employed in lining a sail with beds, blankets, etc., which being got over the bows, and bowsed taut up to the ship's bottom, was of very great service. The water being considerably above the orlop deck, we were enabled to bale at the hatchway; by which, and the wonderful exertions of men actuated by the fear of death, we were enabled to keep her afloat till five o'clock, when, to our inexpressible joy, the echo of the report of one of our guns announced our being near the land, the fog being so thick that we could not see the length of the ship. But judge what must have been our sensations when we found ourselves within half a ship's length of a lee shore, bounded by a precipice as high as our mast head, against which the sea broke with excessive violence, and on which we were running with great rapidity. The only chance of preservation we now had, was by letting go an anchor, which, however, did not bring us up. At the moment when we expected to be dashed to pieces, our jib-boom almost touching the precipice, Providence again interposed in our behalf, and the eddy wind, reverberating from the rock, took the sail aback, and most miraculously saved us from destruction.
"We now cut the cable, and the ship drifted along the shore, till we cleared a rugged point a quarter of a mile to the leeward of us, when she filled and ran up under a weather shore, which, being very high, sheltered us a good deal. Here we grounded; but, from the heavy surf, the ship continued striking with such violence that we were afraid she would go to pieces before we could leave her. We therefore made what haste we could in getting the boat out, and then cut away the masts, when she lay tolerably easy.
"As I had early in the morning resolved within myself to attempt escaping in one of the boats, rather than be made prisoner, I mentioned my design to Mr. Gordon, fifth lieutenant, who readily agreed to accompany me. The eight-oared cutter being hoisted, I got into her, as she was the best boat for the purpose, under pretence of seeking a landing place; and having taken on board as many men as she could conveniently carry, I landed them to the leeward of the point about a mile from the ship, and then returned for another cargo. Having disclosed my plan to the boat's crew, I sent one of them on board the ship for a compass, boat's mast, sails, etc., but, to my infinite mortification, he could only get a compass, the boat's sail being down in the store-room. The pilot now came into my boat to go on shore. I thought if I could secure him, it would be a great point, and I was glad to obtain his concurrence.
"I had made four or five more trips between the ship and the shore, when Mr. Rothery, the first lieutenant, called me to take him on board, which I did, and was agreeably surprised to find that Mr. Gordon had acquainted him with our secret, that he was resolved to go with us, and had made some provision for the voyage. It consisted of some pieces of hung beef, which, though raw, was better than nothing, a small quantity of bread, and half a dozen of brandy, as he imagined, but which afterwards proved to be wine. When I mentioned our want of sail, he replied that we must make shift to supply that deficiency with some table-cloths and sheets he had brought with him.
"We still continued going and returning, till almost all the people were landed, and on our way had fortunately picked up the jolly-boat's mast and sails, and the masts and yards belonging to several other boats, so that the only article we now wanted was water. I recollected the fire cask in the mizen chains, which we desired a man to push overboard. Having picked it up and taken it in, with Mr. Gordon, we again committed ourselves to the mercy of the waves and the care of Providence.
"But before I leave the ship, it will be proper to mention the number of lives that were lost. When we first struck upon the rock, five of the crew, whose apprehensions were too powerful for any other consideration, got into a boat that was hung over the quarter, and in their hurry to escape, cut one of the tackles by which the boat was suspended, while they kept the other fast. The boat, consequently, hung by one end, and they were all thrown out and drowned.
"I forgot to mention that, while the boats were employed in landing the people, those on board had thrown the ends of several hawsers on shore, which the peasantry made fast to the rock, and which being hauled taut on board, they could go on shore upon them with great ease. Two men, however, being intoxicated, fell off the hawsers into the water, and perished. These, together with four marines, who lay upon deck dead-drunk at the time we came away, and who, I believe, were not afterwards carried on shore, are, as far as I know, all that suffered on this occasion.
"Having a fair wind, we set the jolly-boat's sail for a fore sail, then made a sparing breakfast and thought to recruit our spirits with a dram, when, to our great disappointment, we found we had nothing but wine. This was not the greatest of our misfortune, for, upon broaching our water, we found it so strongly impregnated with the varnish with which the cask had been so frequently laid over, that it was scarcely drinkable, and even made some of us sick.