All this time it blew a hurricane, principally
from the north-west, but occasionally, after a short lull, flying round
to the south-west, with a fury that nothing could resist. The sea
threatened to overwhelm our little craft. It was several times proposed
to lay her to; but the fatal opinion prevailed that she did better in
scudding. On the night of the 6th, a tremendous sea struck her on the
stern, stove in all the dead-lights, and washed them into the cabin,
lifted the taffrail a foot or more out of its place, carried away the
afterpart of the larboard bulwark, shattered the whole of the
stern-frame, and washed one of the steersmen away from the wheel. The
carpenter and crew with much labor secured the stern as well as they
could for the night, and next morning the wind moderated a little, new
dead-lights were put in, and the damages further repaired.
Every stitch of canvas, but the main-topsail, jib, and trysail, were
split into ribbons, so that we became anxious to know how we should
reach port when the gale subsided. But we were soon spared further care
on that head.
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