“Then I found that a fearful storm was upon us. The scene had been entirely changed in an hour. All day it had been calm. There was not breeze enough to move a sail, and scarcely to ruffle the water. Now the wind was blowing violently, bending the trees until it seemed as if they would be torn up by the roots. The air was filled with whirling leaves. The river was lashed into waves, and white with foam. The lightning was almost incessant, sometimes in blinding sheets, and sometimes with flaming lines crossing each other.
“The sloop was flying over the waves as gaily as a bird. There was not a thread of canvas out. We were rushing along under bare poles.
“The Indian sailors were of no use whatever—worse than useless, for they were in an agony of terror. They were all in the shrouds and rigging, holding on for dear life. If it had not been for the pilot, the captain, and one white sailor, I don’t know what would have become of us.
“The captain assured me there was no danger, so I secured myself on deck, and watched the tempest, admiring the fine display it made, but wishing from my heart it would stop. For I preferred the certainty of safety to the captain’s assurance that we were safe.
“Fearing that the wind would blow me off the slippery deck, I had tied one end of a rope around the mast, and the other end around my waist. I suppose I did not tie it firmly, for the rope slipped from me; and I felt that I was sliding swiftly over the wet deck, on my way to the river. The sloop was tipped up at such a high angle I could not save myself. I gave a shriek; there was a crash; and down I went into the raging waters!
“For an instant I had no sensation but that of terror. Then the horror of my situation forced me to think how to save myself. I was in the midst of this boiling river, at the mercy of the furious waves, and still more furious wind. The vessel was going at a frantic speed, and would soon be far away from me. At such a time I would not be missed; and, even if I were my companions could not save me. They could do nothing except to throw me a rope, and try to hold me up until I could get to the ship’s side, when there was a possibility they might haul me up. But all this was not probable.
“These thoughts flew through my mind in a moment. Then I found I was close to the ship, but I could not see distinctly. The lightning flashes seemed to have grown very faint, and everything was obscure. The only thing I could do was to try to get up the ship’s side, and I made a desperate clutch at it. My hands failed to get hold of anything, and down I went into the water again. But I did not sink. I seemed to be borne up on the top of the waves all the time. But, of course, I did not reflect upon the strangeness of this. I made another attempt to scramble up the side of the sloop; and this time, I caught hold of an iron ring!
“How desperately I clutched it! And how I shrieked for help! But the gale made such a noise no one heard me. I found to my surprise that the rolling of the vessel dipped only my feet in the water, and that the waves did not dash over me. My situation then did not seem to be quite so hopeless, and I redoubled my cries for help.
“Soon I heard the gruff voice of the Captain calling down to me:
‘What is the matter there?’”