This new circumdance was indeed a mod terrible accumulation
to the other extraordinary diftrefles o f the Gloucefter, and required,
i f poffible, the mod fpeedy and vigorous affidanee; which Captain
Mitchel begged the Commodore to afford him : But the debility of
our people, and our own immediate preferVation, rendered it impracticable
for the Commodore to comply with his requed. All
that could be done was to fend our boat on board for a more particular
account of the fhip’s condition j as it was foon fufpefled
that the taking her people on board us, and then deftroying her,
was the only meafure that could be profecuted in the prefent emergency,
both For the fecurity o f their lives and our own.
Our boat foon returned with a reprefentation of the date of the
Gloutefter, and of her feveral defeAs, figned by Captain Mitchel
and all his Officers j whence it appeared, that die had fprung a
leak by the dern pod being loofe, and working with every roll o f
the drip, and by two beams a midihips being broken in the or-
lope; no part of which, as the Carpenters reported, could poifibly
be' repaired at lea : That both officers and men had wrought
twenty-four hours at the pump without intermiffion, and were
at length fo fatigued, that they could continue their labour no
longer; but had been forced to deiid, with feven feet of water
in the hold, which covered all their cafks, fo that they could
neither come at freih water nor provifion : That they had no mad
danding, except the fore-mad, the mizen-mad, and the mizen
top-mad, nor had they any fpare mad to get up in the room of
thofe they had lo d : That the ihip Was befides extremely decayed
in every part; for her knees and clamps were all become quite
loofe, and her upper works in general were fo crazy, that the
quarter-deck was ready to drop down : That her crew was greatly
reduced, as there remained alive on board her, officers included,
no more than feventy-feven men, eighteen boys, and two pri-
foners ; and that of this whole number, only fixteen men, and
eleven boys were capable o f keeping the deck, feveral of thefe too
feeing very infirm.
i The
The Commodore, on the perufal of this melancholy reprefentation,
prefently ordered them a fupply of water and provifions, of
which they feemed to be in the mod preffing want, and at the fame
time fent his own Carpenter on board them, to examine into the
truth of every particular; and it being found, on the drifled enquiry,
that the preceding account was in no indance exaggerated, it
plainly appeared there was no poffibility Of preferving the Gloucefter
any longer, as her leaks were irreparable, and the united bands on
board both Blips would not be able to free her; could we have
fpjred the whole of our crew to her relief. What then could be
refolved on when it was the utmod we ourfelves could do to manage
our own pumps ? Indeed there was no room for deliberation;
The only dep to be taken was, the faving the lives of the few that
remained on board the Gloucefter, and the getting out of her as
much as we could before ffie was dedroyed. The Commodore
therefore immediately fent an order to Captain Mitchel, .to put
his people on board the Centurion, as expeditioufiy as he could,
now the weather was calm and favourable ; and to take out fuch
dores as he could get at, whild the Blip could hejcept above water.
And as our leak required lefs attention, whild the prefent
eafy weather continued, we fent our boats with as many men as
we could fpare to Captain Mitcbel’s affidanee.
The removing the Gloucefter s people on board us, and the getting
out fuch dores as could mod eafily be come at, gave us full
employment for two days, Mr. Anfon was extremely defirous to
have faved two of her cables and an anchor, but the Blip rolled
fo much, and the men were fo exceffively fatigued, that they were
incapable of eftefling it; nay, it was even with the greated difficulty
that the prize money, which the Gloucefter had taken in the
South-Seas, was fecur.ed, and fent on board the Centurion: However
the prize goods in the Gloucefter, which amounted to feveral
thoufand pounds in value, and were principally the Centurion’s property,
were entirely lo d ; nor could any more provifion be got out
than five caiks of flour, three of which were, fpoiled by the falt-
Q^q * water.