never to
rise again. The negro captain died the second day after we went to sea,
when we committed his body to a watery grave.

Some time after Captain Murray arrived with the Frances in the harbor
and learned the fate of Varney's old vessel, when he chartered a small
schooner belonging to St. Andreas to take the remainder of his goods on
board, and carry them to St. John's, on the Spanish Main. The next day
they were all put on board of the new schooner. Murray now made up his
mind to send the Frances back to New-York, and wanted me to take charge
of her as master, which I refused to do, knowing it to be a broken
voyage, and if I acted as master of her I could not libel the vessel for
my wages. I told him he could give the mate charge of the Frances, and
that I would assist to navigate her back to New-York, which he agreed
to. He and Varney went on board of the new chartered schooner, and
proceeding to St. John's, took out the goods and transported them up
that river into Nunanger Lake, on a trading voyage. All our arrangements
being finished, both vessels proceeded to sea, when we shaped our course
for New-York.

Soon after we got to sea I examined the list of return cargo which
Murray had left on board the Frances; it consisted mostly of fustic,
which was selling in New-York at that time at reduced prices, and I
found that the whole cargo would not pay the charter of the schooner,
which was two hundred dollars per month, besides victualing, manning and
port charges.

The Frances proved to be such a dull sailer that we could seldom force
her more than seven knots per hour, in addition to which her sails and
rigging had been badly injured by the continued rains on that coast,
which rendered her unfit for any voyage. We were beating to the
northward about fourteen days before we made the land, which proved to
be Cape Antonio, we then steered into the Gulf-stream, which assisted us
to work our way to the northward and eastward, and were a number of days
sailing in the Gulf before we reached the latitude of Charleston, where
we encountered a succession of heavy gales of wind which split our sails
and carried away the greatest part of our running rigging. Finding our
water and provisions growing short, we concluded to put into Charleston
for relief, and the next day the wind proving favorable we steered
direct for that port, where we anchored in a crippled condition. After
our arrival there, we wrote to the men whom we