nd, a boat being sent off with eighteen men to
reinforce her, and with fresh meat and fruits for the refreshment of
her crew, she, the next afternoon, happily came to an anchor in the
road, when the commodore immediately went on board, and was received
with the sincerest and heartiest acclamations: For, from the following
short recital of the fears, the dangers and fatigues we in the ship
underwent during our nineteen days absence from Tinian, it may be
easily conceived, that a harbour, refreshments, repose, and the
joining of our commander and shipmates, were not less pleasing to us
than our return was to them.

SECTION XXVII.

_Account of the Proceedings on board the Centurion when driven out to
Sea._

The Centurion being now once more safely arrived at Tinian, to the
mutual respite of the labours of our divided crew, it is high time
that the reader, after the relation already given of the projects and
employment of those left on shore, should be apprised of the fatigues
and distresses to which we, who were driven off to sea, were exposed
during the long interval of nineteen, days that we were absent from
the island.

It has been already mentioned, that it was the 22d of September, about
one o'clock, in an extreme dark night, when, by the united violence of
a prodigious storm, and an exceeding rapid tide, we were driven from
our anchors and forced to sea. Our condition was truly deplorable; we
were in a leaky ship, with three cables in our hawses, to one of which
hung our only remaining anchor; we had not a gun on board lashed, nor
a port barred in; our shrowds were loose, and our top-masts unrigged,
and we had struck our fore and main-yards close down, before the storm
came on, so that there were no sails we could set, except our mizen.
In this dreadful extremity we could muster no more strength on board
to navigate the ship, than an hundred and eight hands, several
negroes and Indians included: This was scarcely the fourth part of our
complement, and of these the greater number were either boys, or such
as, being lately recovered from the scurvy, had not yet arrived at
half their vigour. No sooner were we at sea, but by the violence of
the storm, and the working of the ship, we made a great quantity of
water through our hawse-holes, ports, and scuppers, which, added to
the constant effect of our leak, rendered our pumps alone a sufficient
employment for us all: But though this leakage, by being a short time