''  But  the  sea  was  now  flush  with  the  dead-lights.  In  less  than  three  min-
utes ftom  the  time  he  spoke,  the  stern  sunk,  —  the  foam  went  boiling  over
the  tumbling  heap  of  human  beings,  —  many  were  dashed  forward  against
the  pipe.  I  heard  one  wild  yell  (still  ringing  in  my  ears),  and  saw  the
Arctic  and  the  struggling  mass  rapidly  engulfed.  Numbers  yet  clung  to  the
imperfectly  constructed  raft ;  but,  alas !  we  could  render  them  no  aid.  Our
own  situation  was  no  less  precarious ;  and,  cruel  as  it  seemed,  we  were  forced
to  abandon  them  to  fate.
"  Heaven  forbid  that  I  should  ever  witness  such  another  scene  I  We,  how-
ever, picked  ap  two  more  men,  and  then,  with  an  overloaded  boat,  without
oars,  tholepins,  food  or  drink,  avoiding  with  difllculty  the  ft*agments  of  the
wreck,  and  parsing  many  dead  females,  prepared  for  a  night  upon  the  ocean.
We  secured  a  floating  pumpkin  and  cabbage,  to  guard  against  immediate
starvation,  lashed  a  spar  to  llie  bow  of  our  boat  to  keep  her  head  to  the  wind
and  sea,  and  thus  drifted  until  daylight;  the  night  was  cold  and  foggy,  with
a  heavy  swell,  and,  in  a  cramped,  drenched,  and  hulf-uaked  condition,  we
suffered  terribly.
