A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812: In Which Japan, Kamschatka, the Aleutian islands, and the Sandwich Islands were Visited; Including a Narrative of the Author's Shipwreck on the Island of Sannack, and His Subsequent Wreck in the Ship's Long-Boat; with an Account of the Present State of the Sandwich Islands, and a Vocabulary of Their Language.Campbell, Archibald
History
A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812: In Which Japan, Kamschatka, the Aleutian islands, and the Sandwich Islands were Visited; Including a Narrative of the Author's Shipwreck on the Island of Sannack, and His Subsequent Wreck in the Ship's Long-Boat; with an Account of the Present State of the Sandwich Islands, and a Vocabulary of Their Language.
Campbell, Archibald
Campbell, Archibald, 1787- -- Travel; Hawaii -- Description and travel; Hawaiian language; Voyages around the world -- History -- 19th century
Early on the morning of the 11th, to our great joy, we saw land to the
leeward of us, distant about three or four leagues. It was immediately
determined to watch the lull, slip the cable, and cast the ship’s head
in shore, and steer her for it with the jib and fore-topsail.--After
she was under way, the captain ordered that any of the crew that could
not swim should go into the long-boat astern, and be ready as soon as
she struck to come alongside for the rest, as he expected that she
would then go to pieces. As soon as she struck, all hands came into the
boat, and went for the shore, the captain taking his quadrant, until
the tide should ebb, when he expected she would be nearly dry. We
landed between eleven and twelve o’clock in the forenoon.
The land upon which we were thrown presented a most dreary appearance;
it was an extensive plain, intersected by pools of fresh water,
stretching about five miles from the sea, and terminated by two
mountains. The ground was covered with heath and moss; not a tree
nor a bush could be seen, neither did we observe the least trace
of human habitations. As the land afforded us no sustenance, we
turned our attention to the sea, and when the tide ebbed found some
large muscles.--Having satisfied our hunger with some raw muscles,
we prepared to go off to the ship; but on our way off we had the
mortification to see her fall over on her beam ends. When we reached
the ship we found that we could do nothing with her, and were preparing
to leave her, when we discovered in the bottom of the long-boat the
carpenter’s axe; we then cut the parrel and gear of the main-topsail
yard, and let it drive clear of the wreck, while we went to cut away
the topmasts, and then left her for that day. On our way ashore we
found the main-topsail yard, and took it in tow, and landed again about
six o’clock in the evening. The approach of night rendering some
shelter necessary, we made a sort of tent with a sail, and lay down on
the moss, cold and wet, and spent a most uncomfortable night.
Next morning, the 12th, we set off along shore in search of any thing
that might have driven from the ship, and found, in a bay at no
great distance from our tent, a barrel of rosin, the arm chest, with
one or two small carbines, some swan-shot, and, what was of greater
consequence to us, several calking irons and mallets; on finding these
we went to the ship, but the sea was so high we could not come near
her, and we returned to our tent.
On the 13th, 14th, and 15th, we were employed in repairing the boat,
which had begun to get very leaky; having picked some oakum, we
calked the seams as well as we could. Over the places where this was
insufficient, we nailed pieces of boards, and calked round the edges.
Although we could not pay the seams, having nothing to melt our rosin
in, we succeeded in making her tolerably tight.
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