At ten o’clock I thought to get a little sleep; came to look into my cot; it was full of water, for every seam, by the straining of the ship had begun to leak and the sea was also flooding through the closed gun-ports. I stretched myself, therefore, upon the deck between two chests and left orders to be called, should the least thing happen. At twelve a midshipman came up to me: “Mr. Archer, we are just going to wear ship, sir.” “Oh, very well, I’ll be up directly. What sort of weather have you got?” “It blows a hurricane, sir, and I think we shall lose the ship.” Went upon deck and found Sir Hyde there. Said he: “It blows damned hard, Archer.” “It does indeed, sir.” “I don’t know that I ever remember it blowing so hard before, Archer, but the ship makes a very good weather of it upon this tack as she bows the sea; but we must wear her, as the wind has shifted to the south-east and we are drawing right down upon Cuba. So do you go forward and have some hands stand by; loose the lee yard-arm of the foresail and when she is right before the wind, whip the clew-garnet close up and roll up the sail.” “Sir, there is no canvas that can stand against this a moment. If we attempt to loose him he will fly into ribands in an instant, and we lose three or four of our people. She will wear by manning the fore shrouds.” “No, I don’t think she will, Archer.” “I’ll answer for it, sir. I have seen it tried several times on the coast of America with success.” The captain accepted the suggestion, and Archer considered it “a great condescension from such a man as Sir Hyde.” Two hundred sailors were ordered to climb into the fore-rigging and flatten themselves against the shrouds and ratlines where the wind tore at them and almost plucked them from their desperate station. Thus arranged, their bodies en masse made a sort of human sail against which the hurricane exerted pressure enough to swing the bow of the struggling ship, and she very slowly wore, or changed direction until she stood on the other tack. It was a feat of seamanship which was later displayed during the historic hurricane in the harbor of Samoa when British, German, and American men-of-war were smashed by the tremendous fury of wind and sea, and the gallant old steam frigates _Vandalia_, _Trenton_, and _Nipsic_ faced destruction of the Stars and Stripes gallantly streaming and the crews cheering the luckier British ship that was able to fight its way out to sea.