ernoon, the wind again increasing from the W.S.W., and
the water being on the lower deck, I judged it proper to send some
provisions, with such men as could be best spared, on shore, that, in
the event of the ship going to pieces, which was expected, the boats
might be the better able to save those remaining on board; and on the
morning of the 31st, conceiving every further effort for the
preservation of the ship unavailing, it then blowing strong, with
every appearance of increasing, I felt myself called on, by humanity
as well as duty to my country, to use every effort in saving the lives
of the people intrusted to my care, and accordingly directed the boats
to land as many of them as possible, keeping the senior lieutenant and
a few others on board with me.

'The whole of this day there was little prospect of saving those who
remained with the wreck, as the surf was so great that the boats could
not return to us; several guns were fired, to point to those on shore
our hopeless situation, and stimulate them to use every possible
effort to come to our relief; but they could not effect it,
notwithstanding every exertion on their part, which we were most
anxiously observing. As the only means which then occurred to me of
saving the people on board, I directed a raft to be made with the
spars left on the booms, which was accomplished, with much difficulty,
in about six hours; the sea then breaking over the ship with great
violence, and freezing as it fell with such severity, that even the
alternative adopted presented little prospect of saving any one left
on the wreck. During this state of awful suspense, we had every reason
to think that the ship was completely bilged, and were apprehensive,
from the steepness of the bank, that she would fall with her decks to
the lee, as the ebb made, in which case all on board must have
inevitably perished.

'About half-past eleven P.M., the barge came off; and as the lives of
the people were now the primary consideration, I sent as many of them
on shore by her as possible, as well as by the launch, when she was
able to come off; and at two A.M., on the 1st November, having
previously succeeded in sending every other person on shore, I left
the ship with regret, in the jolly boat, and landed, with some
difficulty, through the surf. About eight A.M., the same morning, I
attempted to go off in the barge to save as much provisions and stores
as possible, but found it impracticable, as