t this had become exceedingly doubtful, for the wind was
much increased since morning, and the current more rapid. We
repeatedly succeeded in towing the derrick into the gut, and were as
often driven back; till at length we were compelled to make it fast to
the rock outside until a small anchor and some grapnels were laid out,
by which means it was finally warped into the harbor, and by half-past
eleven at night moored near the _Adelaide_. Undismayed by this
failure, by seven o'clock of the following morning, we were again in
the cove with the derrick.

"The vast weight, the great height of the purchases, the number of
them, and the great distances they were apart, made united effort
impossible, but at the close of the day I had the satisfaction of
seeing this huge spar in the place assigned for it, and the head of it
hove ten feet above the water. On the 11th, we were again at our
purchases, and the head of the derrick was raised to the angle I had
intended, being about fifty feet above the surface of the sea.

"During the operation of erecting the derrick, it showed great
pliability, the result of being composed of so many pieces, which
obliged us to get numerous additional guys on; and having thus secured
it, we returned to our encampment, all hands greatly fatigued by three
days of the most harassing exertion, from half-past four in the morning
until late at night. On looking down from the precipice on this
enormous machine, with all its necessary rigging, it became a matter of
astonishment to myself, and I believe to everyone else who saw it, that
with the small means we had, we could have succeeded in such a
situation. It has been my lot to witness many circumstances in which
there was cause for great solicitude, but never one wherein such
general anxiety was manifested as on this occasion. If any one thing
had given way, it must have been fatal to the whole--a general crash
would have been inevitable."

Meanwhile, Captain Dickinson had found time to devise a small diving
bell, made from another water tank, which could be operated from spars
and tackle set up on board a launch. This was employed for exploring
the bottom of the cove in order to find where the treasure was. The
bell held two men, and there were plenty of volunteers to risk their
lives in the first descent in this little iron pot. The trip was
disastrous, and the commander described it as follows:

"The water happened to be particularly