evidently bent upon capturing her at
all hazards.

That they would succeed in so doing could not be doubted for an instant.
The six men left in the vessel, however resolutely they might engage
in her defence, were altogether unequal to the proper management of the
guns, or in any manner to sustain a contest at such odds. I could
hardly imagine that they would make resistance at all, but in this was
deceived; for presently I saw them get springs upon the cable, and bring
the vessel's starboard broadside to bear upon the canoes, which by this
time were within pistol range, the rafts being nearly a quarter of a
mile to windward. Owing to some cause unknown, but most probably to
the agitation of our poor friends at seeing themselves in so hopeless a
situation, the discharge was an entire failure. Not a canoe was hit or
a single savage injured, the shots striking short and ricocheting over
their heads. The only effect produced upon them was astonishment at
the unexpected report and smoke, which was so excessive that for some
moments I almost thought they would abandon their design entirely, and
return to the shore. And this they would most likely have done had our
men followed up their broadside by a discharge of small arms, in which,
as the canoes were now so near at hand, they could not have failed in
doing some execution, sufficient, at least, to deter this party from a
farther advance, until they could have given the rafts also a broadside.
But, in place of this, they left the canoe party to recover from their
panic, and, by looking about them, to see that no injury had been
sustained, while they flew to the larboard to get ready for the rafts.

The discharge to larboard produced the most terrible effect. The star
and double-headed shot of the large guns cut seven or eight of the rafts
completely asunder, and killed, perhaps, thirty or forty of the savages
outright, while a hundred of them, at least, were thrown into the water,
the most of them dreadfully wounded. The remainder, frightened out of
their senses, commenced at once a precipitate retreat, not even waiting
to pick up their maimed companions, who were swimming about in every
direction, screaming and yelling for aid. This great success, however,
came too late for the salvation of our devoted people. The canoe party
were already on board the schooner to the number of more than a hundred
and fifty, the most of them having succeeded in scrambling up the chains
an