ut did not succeed in passing the breakers, and returned to the ship.
Later in the afternoon a gentle breeze sprang up from the west, blowing
into the mouth of the river, and Thorn determined to try and cross the
bar. He weighed anchor, therefore, and bore down under easy sail for
the entrance of the river. As he came close to the breakers he hove to
and sent out another boat, in charge of Aitkin, a Scottish seaman,
accompanied by Sailmaker Coles, Armorer Weeks and two Sandwich
Islanders.

The breakers were not quite so rough as they had been, and Aitkin
proceeded cautiously some distance in front of the ship, making
soundings and finding no depth less than four fathoms. In obedience to
his signals, the ship came bowling on, and the fitful breeze suddenly
freshening, she ran through the breakers, passing Aitkin's boat to
starboard in pistol-shot distance. Signals were made for the boat to
return, but the tide had turned, and the strong ebb, with the current
of the river, bore the boat into the breakers in spite of all her crew
could do. While they were watching the boat, over which the waves were
seen breaking furiously, {270} the ship, the wind failing, was driven
seaward by the tide, and struck six or seven times on the bar. The
breakers, running frightfully high, swept over her decks again and
again. Nothing could be done for the boat by the ship, their own
condition being so serious as to demand all their efforts.

Thorn at last extricated the _Tonquin_ from her predicament. The wind
favored her again, and she got over the bar and through the breakers,
anchoring at nightfall in seven fathoms of water. The night was very
dark. The ebb and current threatened to sweep the ship on the shore.
Both anchors were carried out. Still the holding was inadequate and
the ship's position grew more dangerous. They passed some anxious
hours until the turn of the tide, when in spite of the fact that it was
pitch dark, they weighed anchor, made sail, and succeeded in finding a
safe haven under the lee of Cape Disappointment, in a place called
Baker's Bay. The next day the captain and some of the partners landed
in the morning to see if they could find the missing party. As they
were wandering aimlessly upon the shore, they came across Weeks,
exhausted and almost naked.

He had a sad story to tell. The boat had capsized in the breakers and
his two white companions had been drowned. He and the Kanakas had
succeeded i