Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849Gilly, William O. S.
History
Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849
Gilly, William O. S.
Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 18th century; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 19th century; Shipwrecks
'The whole of this day there was little prospect of saving those who
remained with the wreck, as the surf was so great that the boats could
not return to us; several guns were fired, to point to those on shore
our hopeless situation, and stimulate them to use every possible
effort to come to our relief; but they could not effect it,
notwithstanding every exertion on their part, which we were most
anxiously observing. As the only means which then occurred to me of
saving the people on board, I directed a raft to be made with the
spars left on the booms, which was accomplished, with much difficulty,
in about six hours; the sea then breaking over the ship with great
violence, and freezing as it fell with such severity, that even the
alternative adopted presented little prospect of saving any one left
on the wreck. During this state of awful suspense, we had every reason
to think that the ship was completely bilged, and were apprehensive,
from the steepness of the bank, that she would fall with her decks to
the lee, as the ebb made, in which case all on board must have
inevitably perished.
'About half-past eleven P.M., the barge came off; and as the lives of
the people were now the primary consideration, I sent as many of them
on shore by her as possible, as well as by the launch, when she was
able to come off; and at two A.M., on the 1st November, having
previously succeeded in sending every other person on shore, I left
the ship with regret, in the jolly boat, and landed, with some
difficulty, through the surf. About eight A.M., the same morning, I
attempted to go off in the barge to save as much provisions and stores
as possible, but found it impracticable, as the boat was nearly
swamped. All this and the succeeding day, the gale continuing, we
could not launch the boats, and were employed carrying such provisions
and stores as were saved, to some empty houses which were discovered
about six miles to the eastward of where we landed. Finding that with
all our exertions we had only been able to save three days' bread, the
officers and crew were put upon half allowances, with the melancholy
prospect of starving in the woods.
'On Thursday, the 3rd November, the weather moderating, we launched
the boats before daylight, and dispatched the jolly boat, with the
purser, to a village called Trois Pistoles, about forty-five miles
distant, on the opposite side of the river, that he might find his way
to Quebec, to procure us assistance and relief, there being no
possibility of communicating with any inhabited quarter from where we
were but by water.
'During our stay near the wreck, we had repeated gales of wind, both
to the eastward and westward; and so violent, and with so much sea,
that the mizenmast was thrown overboard, all the upper deck beams
broken, and the ship's bottom beaten out.
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