A PASSAGE OF BREAKERS. [From Lieutenant Barnard's "Cruise in the Mozambique Channel."]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 480, 9 March 1850, Page 4

A PASSAGE OF BREAKERS. [From Lieutenant Barnard's "Cruise in the Mozambique Channel."]

The captain had exchanged the jolly- boat for a gig, sharp at both ends, but with much less beam than t whale-boat. We had raised her one streak, and, being anxious to try her, I took the lead on shoving off, having with me Denman and Law, six men, and several bags ; but, finding her too deep, I advised Denman and Law to get into the pinnace or barge, and put also two heavy bags into the latter. When close to the bar I hove to, to bale out dry, and practise the men for crossing a surf. , On entering the breakers I found them much heavier than I anticipated, and from the first iaw that it would be quite a mercy if we crossed safely. However, we got over four breakers beautifully, the boiling foam taking us with it at an awful rate ; the fifth followed us like an overhanging mountain, with its crest in the act of curling, and we rose to it just as - it broke, becoming, as it were a component part of the foam. My feeling was that of intense anxiety, and I at one time thought it wouid pass us, and had an encouraging " all right" on the top of my tongue, when the angry surf boiled up afresh. There was a crash, a cry, and in an instant we were struggling in the breakers, and never were men rescued from a more hopeless condition. My first impulse was to dive from under the boat, and just as I rose to the surface, I found myself grappled by a man who could nol swim, whom I endeavoured to shake off, but, finding that I could help him up, told him to keep his hand on my shoulder, and took him to the boat, which kept turning round and round like a cask ; and the seas constantly breaking over us, gave us so little breathing time that nearly all hope of being saved was taken away. It was a most awful moment, and all the people, places, and things > I had ever seen seemed concentrated and pre- ; sent at the same instant, to my mind's eye, ' with a startling distinctness ; then the misery of being cut off from all, in rude health, unprepared to meet my Maker, with succour close at hand, nerved us all to make extraordinary exertions, and I mentally prayed for ; presence of mind, for I felt that the safety of the whole depended so entirely on me that I used the whole of my breathing time in cheering up the three men who could not swim. All eyes were fixed on the barge close to us, and approaching rapidly, but every now and then hid by the overhanging crest of a wave which engulphed us a second afterwards, keeping us down longer and longer as our strength failed us and we filled with water. She was almost within our reach when a furious breaker swept her past us with the speed of lightning, and buried us for some seconds. How plainly I saw the faces of all in the barge as they passed us, pale as death, with eyes straining with eager anxiety ; but they were as hejpless as ourselves, and halffilled their boat in endeavouring to round- to. My men now began to despair and utter the most piercing cries, and one of them said, " Good bye, Mr. Barnard, I am going down ;" but I tapped him on the shoulder, and told him to look at the pinnace, not then far from us, and we held on by the keel of the boat with the energy and despair of drowning men. At least six times did the surf wash me from one end of the boat to the other, my hand grasping the keel the whole length ; still, on came our rescuers, our only hope ; some screeched and howled, others left the boat and swam towards the approaching one, and I exerted my remaining strength in calling out " Luff, luff!" fearing she would pass us like the barge. However, we were all picked up but one poor boy, named Crap well, who was probably taken down by a shark. I had grasped the bit of the jib-sheet, and when hauled into the pinnace was quite exhausted and black in the face, and the men were much in the same plight. Fortunately the Chipoli was at anchor about three miles from us, and we received every attention and kindness from the American officers, and Dr. Tuckerham soon restored us with bottles of hot water at our feet, and friction of warm blankets, and I remained on board, sending the boats on. We all suffered from an unquenchable thirst, and a great soreness in our backs and limbs ; however, I was able to get to work the next day.