638
situation.
Loss of the Mudagascar.
DEC.
We had moreover been without food from Sunday after- noon at 4 P. M. till this time 4 A. M. of the 21st; consequently we were all exhausted, but every effort that men in our condition could put forth was exerted, and after dragging along the edge of the reef, and close to the breakers, we succeeded in clearing the Point. At that time the wind shifted round to southeast and south, and some- what increasing, the boat could not lay clear of the land. She was at last stranded about seven miles to the westward of Breaker Point, at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 21st.
Finding that we must inevitably fall into the hands of the Chinese, the dispatches for your excellency, as well as those for their excel- lencies H. M. plenipotentiary and sir Hugh Gough, G. c. B., were effectually destroyed by myself and captain Grattan, who was the bearer of those sent by the right honorable the governor-general of India. Thus end the disasters we encountered, up to the time of our being thrown on shore into the hands of the Chinese, a period of 32 hours, during which we were placed in a position of the great- est trial, difficulty and danger, and which I am happy to say was borne throughout by my officers and crew with the greatest patience and fortitude, more particularly that part of the time our efforts were exerted to extinguish the fire, when every officer and man on board carried into effect my orders with zeal, promptitude and unflinch- ing firmness to the last ;-particularly Mr. Oliver, the chief officer, who remained very near the flame during the whole time. In bring- ing this to a close, I would bear testimony to the great assistance I received from captain Grattan, H. M. 18th Royal Irish, a passenger, and the five European soldiers who were with him, during the whole of the night of the 19th September.
Prior to landing, I had determined, had we fallen in with the fisher- men, and any difficulty arisen with them as to our nation (for Amoy as I had learned a few days before had fallen into British hands), to say that we were Americans, in hopes of inducing them by a liberal reward to take us to Macao. But we met no fisherman, and almost as soon as the boat stranded, it was seized and broken to pieces by the natives. We were then invited by a fisherman to his hut, and, when he understood we were not English, he appeared dispos- ed for a handsome reward to convey me and my companions to Ma- cao; but while engaged in arranging through our Chinese carpenters with him about the terms, a petty oflicer, with a number of follow- ers, arrived, and marched us to a village about two miles from the beach On our way there, the crowd meanwhile increasing at every
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