There was no need to call attention to the foundering craft. Yells from a dozen voices in it did that. It was the biggest boat of the lot, and carried the greatest number of men. Then the oval bottom of the boat was seen, with several men clinging to it for dear life, while others were struggling in the water, upborne by life preservers and floating like corks on the billows. The capsized boat was perhaps about thirty or forty yards from the one in which Buffalo Bill was sitting, and the other was not much farther off. Both came to her relief as speedily as possible, not without increased peril to themselves. This was still more augmented when some of the struggling swimmers came clinging to the sides of the boats and begging to be taken in. These appeals, of course, could not be disregarded, and the sufferers were hauled in as fast as they came. Some of them, however, being strong and brave men, and seeing that their comrades were making an attempt to right the boat, swam back to aid in it, for the danger of overloading the two other craft was apparent to all. Captain Meinhold called for volunteers to follow him into the water and help to right the boat, and Buffalo Bill was the first to respond. Luckily the sea had now gone down still farther, though it was still running high, and thus making the task one of extreme difficulty. All of the men in the water were buoyed up by life preservers, but unfortunately two soldiers who had not worn any had sunk when the boat first went over. For a time the violence of the sea defeated all the efforts of the men to right the boat, but at last they got it over on its keel again and with infinite labor bailed it free of the water. Its crew got back, and the other men swam to their boats and were hauled in. The men were so thoroughly worn out by their labors that Captain Meinhold realized that it was hopeless to try to head for land at present. He advised them not to still further exhaust their strength by any attempt at making progress while the sea still continued rough, but merely to keep the heads of the boats straight with the waves and avoid being caught broadside on. “No matter which way we go or how far or how little,” he said, “let your aim be only to keep from filling and upsetting. After it becomes calmer it will be time enough to try to make progress. A few miles more or less now can make little difference. These waves cannot always roll like this. The sea seems to be going down all the time.” The advice was followed. The utmost vigilance was observed by all, and every attention was given to “trimming ship” by changing positions at critical moments. Now and then, when nothing else apparently would have saved the boats, some of the boldest of the men would spring overboard on the elevated side and by clinging to it restore the equilibrium.