But a dreadful addition was
now made to the precariousness of our situation, by the cry of "land
a-head!" which was seen from the forecastle, and must have been very
near. Not a moment was now lost in wearing the ship round on the other
tack, and making what little sail could be carried, to weather the land
we had already passed. This soon proved, however, to be a forlorn
prospect, for it was found that we should run our distance by ten
o'clock. All the horrors of shipwreck now stared us in the face,
aggravated tenfold by the darkness of the night, and the tremendous
force of the wind, which now blew a hurricane. Mountains are
insignificant when speaking of the sea that kept pace with it; its
violence was awful beyond description, and it frequently broke over all
the poor little ship, that shivered and groaned, but behaved admirably.
The force of the sea may be guessed from the fact of the sheet-anchor,
nearly a ton and a half in weight, being actually lifted on board, to
say nothing of the forechain-plates' board broken, both gangways torn
away, quarter-galleries stove in, &c.
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