C H A P . IV.
Proceedings on board the Centurion when driven out
to fea.
T H E Centurion being now once more fafely arrived' at 'Tinian,
to the mutual refpite o f the labours of our divided crew,
it is high time that the reader, after the relation already
given of the projefts and employment o f thofe left on fhore,
fhould be apprized of the fatigues and diftreffes, to whieh we,
whom the Centurion carried off to fea, were expofed, during the
long interval o f nineteen days that we were abfent from the
Illand.
It has been already mentioned, that it was the 22d of September,
about one o’clock, in an extreme dark night, when by the united
violence o f a prodigious floral, and an exceeding rapid tide, we
were driven from our anchors, and forced to fea. Our condition,
then was truly deplorable j we were in a leaky {hip, with three
cables in our hawfes, to one of which hung our only remaining
anchor; we had not a gun on board lafhed, nor a port barred in
our fhrouds were loofe, and our top-mafts unrigged, and we had
ftruck our fore and main yards clofe down, before the hurricane,
came on, fa that there were no fails we could fet, except our mizen..
In this dreadful extremity we could mufter no. more flrength on
board to navigate the {hip than an hundred and eight hands, feve-
ral Negroes and Indians included: This was fcarcely the fourth part
o f our complement; and of thefe the greater number were either;
boys, or fuch as, being but lately recovered from- the feurvy, had not
yet arrived at half their farmer vigour. No faoner were we at fea,
but by the violence of the ftorm, and the working of the fhip,' we
made a great quantity of water through our hawfe-holes, ports and
feuppers, which, added to the conftant effedt o f our leak,, rendered
aur
our pumps alone a fufficient employment for us a ll: But though
we knew that this leakage, by being a fhort time neglefled, would
inevitably end in our deftruflion ; yet we had other dangers then
hanging over us, which occafioned this to be regarded as a fecond-
ary confideration only. For we all imagined, that we were driving
direaiy on the neighbouring Ifland of Aguiguan, which was about
two leagues diftant; and as we had lowered our main and foreyards
clofe down, we had no fails we could fet but the mizen,
which was altogether infufficient to carry us clear of this imminent
peril. Urged therefore by this prefling emergency, we immediately
applied ourfelves to work, endeavouring with the utmoft of our
efforts, to heave up the main and fore yards, in hopes that, if we
could but be enabled to make ufe o f our lower canvas, we might
poffibly weather the Ifland, and thereby fave ourfelves from this
impending {hipwreck. But'after full three hours ineffedual labour,
the jeers broke, and the men being quite jaded, we were
obliged, by mere debility, to defift, and quietly to expefls our
fate, which we then conceived to be unavoidable. For we foon
efteemed ourfelves to. be driven juft upon the fhore, and the night
Was fo extremely dark, that we expedted to difeover the Ifland no
otherwise than by ftriking upon it; fo that the belief of our de-
ftrudtion, and the uncertainty of the point of time when it would
take place, occafioned us to pafs Several hours under the moft fe-
rious apprehenfi&ns, that each fucceeding moment would fend us
to the bottom. Nor did thefe continued terrors, of inftantly ftrik-
ing and finking, end but with the day-break ; when we with great,
tranfport perceived, that the Ifland, we had thus dreaded, was at
a confiderable diftance, and that a ftrong northern current had.
been the caufe of our prefervation.
The turbulent weather, which forced us from Tinian, did not
abate till three days after; and then we fwayed up the fore-yard,,
and began to heave up the main-yard, but the jeers broke again,
and killed one of our people, and prevented us at that time from
proceeding. The next day, being the 26th of September, was a
V U u z day