wever, that he usually made, was to run up to the
northward of the Antilles, and then cross over, making the Bahama
Isles, and from thence taking a fresh departure for Lisbon. Our crew
consisted of only eight men, besides the captain; but as the vessel
was not more than thirty tons, they were sufficient. We made a good
run, until we were in about twenty-four degrees of north latitude,
when, as we stretched to the eastward to cross the Atlantic, we met
with a most violent gale, which lasted several days, and I fully
expected every hour that the vessel would go down, buried as she was
by the heavy sea. At last we had no chance but to scud before the
wind, which we did for two days before a raging and following sea,
that appeared determined upon our destruction. On the second night, as
I was on deck, watching the breaking and tossing of the billows, and
the swift career of the little bark, which enabled her to avoid them,
the water suddenly appeared of one white foam, and as we rose upon the
next sea, we were hurled along on its crest, reeling on the foam until
it had passed us, and then we struck heavily upon a rock. Fortunately,
it was a soft coral rock, or we had all perished. The next wave lifted
us up again, and threw us further on, and, on its receding, the little
xebeque laid high and dry, and careened over on her bilge.

The waters rose and fell, and roared and foamed about us, but they
lifted us no more, neither did they wash us off the decks as we clung
to the rigging; for the stout short mast, upon which the lateen sail
was hoisted, had not been carried away. We remained where we were till
morning, every one holding on, and not communicating with each other.
As the night wore away, so did the gale decrease and the sea subside.
The waters now gradually left us; at intervals, when the waves
receded, we could walk on shore; but we remained on the vessel till
noon, by which time we found our vessel high and dry, having been
carried over a coral reef, which appeared to extend one or two miles
into the offing.

The men, who had been much buffeted by the waves, and who were
exhausted by clinging so long to the rigging, now that they found
themselves safe, and were warmed by the heat of the sun, rallied, and
began to move about. We had a long consultation as to how we should
act. There was no chance of getting the vessel off again, and we did
not exactly know where we were; but the captain and I agreed that it
must be