of the river, and clear of the sands, and the people had
been allowed to go to breakfast, on the supposition that all danger
was past, when the vessel struck upon Scharborn Sand, with Newark
Island bearing south by east, at half-past nine o'clock, A.M.

As it was blowing a very strong gale of wind, the Proserpine struck
with great force, though she carried no other canvass than her
foretopmast stay-sail. Upon sounding there was found to be only ten
feet of water under the fore part of her keel.

The boats were immediately lowered to carry out an anchor, but the ice
was returning upon them so fast that this was found impossible, and
the boats were hoisted on board again. All hands were then employed to
shore the ship up, and make her heel towards the bank, to prevent her
falling into the stream, which would have been certain destruction.
Happily this object was effected; for as the tide ebbed, she lay
towards the bank.

The next tide, however, brought down such huge masses of ice that the
shores were carried away--the copper was torn from the starboard
quarter, and the rudder cut in two, the lower part lying on the ice
under the counter.

Notwithstanding all these disasters, Captain Wallis still hoped to get
the ship off at high water, and to effect this, they proceeded to
lighten her by throwing most of her guns and part of her stores
overboard, all of which were borne up on the ice. One party was
employed in hoisting out the provisions, another in starting the casks
of wine and spirits; and such were the good discipline and right
feeling of the men, that not one instance of intoxication occurred.

At ten o'clock on Friday night, they abandoned all hope of saving the
vessel; it was then high water, yet the heavy gale from the south-east
so kept back the tide, that upon sounding, they found three feet less
water than there had been in the morning, when the ship first struck.

The situation of the crew was dreadful. When the tide ebbed, they
expected every moment that the ship would be driven to pieces by the
ice. The cold was intense, and the darkness such that it was almost
impossible to distinguish one another upon deck; and the snow, falling
very thick, was driven against their faces by the wind, and froze upon
them as it fell.

There was no possibility of keeping up warmth and circulation in their
bodies, for the frozen snow and ice made the deck so slippery they
could scarcely stand, much less walk about qui