CHAPTER XIV.
Proceed to New Brunswick. Encounter a severe storm. Come near losing the ship. Arrived at Delhouse. Sickness of the author. Bleeds himself. His end apparently approaches. Timely assistance. Sails for Quebec. Description of the Citadel. A sketch of its history.
I remained at Liverpool only a few days, when I shipped on board the barque Asia, Capt. Hannah, (a Scotchman) as second mate. Ten days from the time of my arrival on the Tammercee we weighed anchor and put to sea, bound for Delhouse, N. B.
We proceeded down the channel with a head wind until abreast the Tuscan light, when the wind favoring us, we soon lost sight of the land.
We had a good passage until we reached the New Foundland banks. These are immense sand banks or shoals which greatly endanger the safety of vessels bound thither. In the spring of the year they are covered with ice which washes down the Davis straits from the more frozen regions. Then it is, that ships are obliged to lay to, during the night.
The wind now hauled round from the northwest and blew a complete hurricane for about six hours, when it abated and fell into a calm. During the calm, we caught several codfish and halibut.
The dense fog which arose was a sure omen of a southerly wind. For this we made ready. The wind came at length like a "cat's paw" upon the water. Sails were trimmed, studding-sails set, &c. The wind increased every moment, and in the course of two hours we were obliged to take in the studding-sails, and top-gallant-sails, and in the course of three hours were under close reefed main-top-sail and fore-sail. Thus we run until the captain thought us to be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and about 12 o'clock at night altered our course one point. At 4 the next morning I called the mate. I had scarcely laid my head on the pillow, when I heard the order, "port your helm, put hard to port," and at the same time, "haul in the larboard braces, quick; bear a hand my good fellows or we are all on the beach." At this I sprung upon deck, with nothing on, save a shirt and a pair of drawers, and met the captain in the same dress as myself. After the helm had been hard put to port, she came around on her keel, a thing which I never saw her do before. Had she not done so, we should have run on the beach at Cape Breton. This is a large island, separated from Nova Scotia by the straits of Canseau. It is about 100 miles in length, and from 30 to 80 in breadth, and is divided into two nearly equal portions by an arm of the sea, called Bras. de. or. The fog was so dense that it was impossible to see more than one-fourth of a mile. Had not the high cliffs towered above the fog, which enabled those on the lookout to see them, we should inevitably have been wrecked in this awful place. After the ship was headed off shore, the line was cast and we found only four fathoms water. Our ship was drawing 18 feet, so that the heaving of the sea caused her to come within a few inches of the bottom.
For a few moments the greatest fear was depicted on every countenance, but so accustomed are the mariners to danger, that perils past cause no forebodings. They being soon forgotten, they rush on to new dangers.