By this accident we lost three men overboard with
the caboose, and nearly the whole of the larboard bulwarks.
Scarcely had we recovered our senses, before the foretopsail went
into shreds, when we got up a storm staysail and with this did
pretty well for some hours, the ship heading the sea much more
steadily than before.
The gale still held on, however, and we saw no signs of its
abating. The rigging was found to be ill-fitted, and greatly
strained; and on the third day of the blow, about five in the
afternoon, our mizzen-mast, in a heavy lurch to windward, went by
the board. For an hour or more, we tried in vain to get rid of it,
on account of the prodigious rolling of the ship; and, before we
had succeeded, the carpenter came aft and announced four feet of
water in the hold. To add to our dilemma, we found the pumps
choked and nearly useless.
All was now confusion and despair--but an effort was made to
lighten the ship by throwing overboard as much of her cargo as
could be reached, and by cutting away the two masts that remained.
This we at last accomplished--but we were still unable to do any
thing at the pumps; and, in the meantime, the leak gained on us
very fast.
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