The Book of Enterprise and Adventure: Being an Excitement to Reading. for Young People. a New and Condensed Edition.Anonymous
General
The Book of Enterprise and Adventure: Being an Excitement to Reading. for Young People. a New and Condensed Edition.
Anonymous
Adventure and adventurers -- Juvenile literature
It was ultimately found, that about a fourth of
those whose bodies were recovered, might have been saved, had timely
assistance been at hand. The men were chiefly found in attitudes
indicating an effort at escape, the women with their hands covering
their face, or desperately plunged in their hair. Mothers were
discovered dead who had striven to protect their infants with their own
bodies, or lay with their arms stretched towards these objects of
affection, when separated from them by intervening masses of ruin.
~Escape from a Ship on Fire.~
From the "Missionary Annual" for 1833.
Many of the party, having retired to their hammocks soon after the
commencement of the storm, were only partially clothed, when they made
their escape; but the seamen on the watch, in consequence of the heavy
rain, having cased themselves in double or treble dresses, supplied
their supernumerary articles of clothing to those who had none. We
happily succeeded in bringing away two compasses from the binnacle, and
a few candles from the cuddy-table, one of them lighted; one bottle of
wine, and another of porter, were handed to us, with the tablecloth and
a knife, which proved very useful; but the fire raged so fiercely in the
body of the vessel, that neither bread nor water could be obtained. The
rain still poured in torrents; the lightning, followed by loud bursting
of thunder, continued to stream from one side of the heavens to the
other,--one moment dazzling us by its glare, and the next moment
leaving us in darkness, relieved only by the red flames of the
conflagration from which we were endeavouring to escape. Our first
object was to proceed to a distance from the vessel, lest she should
explode and overwhelm us; but, to our inexpressible distress, we
discovered that the yawl had no rudder, and that for the two boats we
had only three oars. All exertions to obtain more from the ship proved
unsuccessful. The gig had a rudder; from this they threw out a rope to
take us in tow; and, by means of a few paddles, made by tearing up the
lining of the boat, we assisted in moving ourselves slowly through the
water, providentially the sea was comparatively smooth, or our
overloaded boats would have swamped, and we should only have escaped the
flames to have perished in the deep. The wind was light, but variable,
and, acting on the sails, which, being drenched with the rain, did not
soon take fire, drove the burning mass, in terrific grandeur, over the
surface of the ocean, the darkness of which was only illuminated by the
quick glancing of the lightning or the glare of the conflagration. Our
situation was for some time extremely perilous. The vessel neared us
more than once, and apparently threatened to involve us in one common
destruction. The cargo, consisting of dry provisions, spirits, cotton
goods, and other articles equally combustible, burned with great
violence, while the fury of the destroying element, the amazing height
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account