h the deck, and
part of her starboard bulwarks was also smashed to pieces. Her wheel
was gone, and the heavy seas that had swept her deck had carried away
capstans, binnacle, hatchway gratings, pumps--everything, in short, but
the deck-house and the remnants of the galley. I particularly noticed
a strong iron boat's-davit twisted up like a corkscrew. She was full
of water, and lay as deep as her main-chains; but her bows stood high,
and her fore-chains were out of the sea. It was miraculous to see her
keep afloat as the long swell rolled over her in a cruel, foaming
succession of waves.

Though these plain details impressed themselves upon my memory, I did
not seem to notice anything, in the anxiety that possessed me to rescue
the lonely creature in the deck-house. It would have been impossible
to keep a footing upon the main-deck without a life-line or something
to hold on by; and seeing this, and forming my resolutions rapidly, I
ordered the man in the bow of the boat to throw in his oar and exchange
places with me, and head the boat for the starboard port-chains. As we
approached I stood up with one foot planted on the gunwale ready to
spring; the broken shrouds were streaming aft and alongside, so that if
I missed the jump and fell into the water there was plenty of stuff to
catch hold of.

"Gently--'vast rowing--ready to back astern smartly!" I cried as we
approached. I waited a moment: the hull rolled toward us, and the
succeeding swell threw up our boat; the deck, though all aslant, was on
a line with my feet. I sprung with all my strength, and got well upon
the deck, but fell heavily as I reached it. However, I was up again in
a moment, and ran forward out of the water.

Here was a heap of gear--stay-sail, and jib-halyards, and other ropes,
some of the ends swarming overboard. I hauled in one of these ends,
but found I could not clear the raffle; but looking round, I perceived
a couple of coils of line--spare stun'-sail tacks or halyards I took
them to be--lying close against the foot of the bowsprit. I
immediately seized the end of one of these coils, and flung it into the
boat, telling them to drop clear of the wreck astern; and when they
found they had backed as far as the length of the line permitted, I
bent on the end of the other coil, and paid that out until the boat was
some fathoms astern. I then made my end fast, and sung out to one of
the men to get on board by the starboard mizzen-chai