NOVEMBER 15th to 20th.--The examination of the hold has at last been
made. Amongst the first things that were found was the case of picrate,
perfectly intact; having neither been injured by the water, nor of
course reached by the flames. Why it was not at once pitched into the
sea I cannot say; but it was merely conveyed to the extremity of the
island, and there it remains.
While they were below, Curtis and Dowlas made themselves acquainted with
the full extent of the mischief that had been done by the conflagration.
They found that the deck and the cross-beams that supported it had been
much less injured than they expected, and the thick, heavy planks had
only been scorched very superficially. But the action of the fire on
the flanks of the ship had been of a much more serious character; a long
portion of the inside boarding had been burnt away, and the very ribs
of the vessel were considerably damaged; the oakum caulkings had all
started away from the butt-ends and seams; so much so that it was
little short of a miracle that the whole ship had not long since gaped
completely open.
The captain and the carpenter returned to the deck with anxious faces.
Curtis lost no time in assembling passengers and crew, and announcing to
them the facts of the case.
“My friends,” he said, “I am here to tell you that the ‘Chancellor’ has
sustained far greater injuries than we suspected, and that her hull is
very seriously damaged. If we had been stranded anywhere else than on a
barren reef, that may at any time be overwhelmed by a tempestuous sea
I should not have hesitated to take the ship to pieces, and construct a
smaller vessel that might have carried us safely to land; but I dare not
run the risk of remaining here. We are now 800 miles from the coast of
Paramaribo, the nearest portion of Dutch Guiana, and in ten or twelve
days, if the weather should be favourable, I believe we could reach the
shore. What I now propose to do is to stop the leak by the best means we
can command, and make at once for the nearest port.”
As no better plan seemed to suggest itself, Curtis’s proposal was
unanimously accepted Dowlas and his assistants immediately set to work
to repair the charred frame-work of the ribs, and to stop the leak; they
took care thoroughly to caulk from the outside all the seams that were
above low water mark; lower than that they were unable to work, and
had to content themselves with such repairs as they could effect in the
interior. But after all the pains there is no doubt the “Chancellor” is
not fit for a long voyage, and would be condemned as unseaworthy at any
port at which we might put in.
To-day, the 20th, Curtis having done all that human power could do to
repair his ship, determined to put her to sea.
Ever since the “Chancellor” had been relieved of her cargo, and of the
water in her hold, she had been able to float in the little natural
basin into which she had been driven. The basin was enclosed on either
hand by rocks that remained uncovered even at high water, but was
sufficiently wide to allow the vessel to turn quite round at its
broadest part, and by means of hawsers fastened on the reef to be
brought with her bows towards the south; while, to prevent her being
carried back on to the reef, she has been anchored fore and aft.
To all appearance, then, it seemed as though it would be an easy matter
to put the “Chancellor” to sea; if the wind were favourable the sails
would be hoisted, if otherwise, she would have to be towed through the
narrow passage. All seemed simple. But unlooked-for difficulties had yet
to be surmounted.
The mouth of the passage is guarded by a kind of ridge of basalt, which
at high tide we knew was barely covered with sufficient water to float
the “Chancellor,” even when entirely unfreighted. To be sure she had
been carried over the obstacle once before, but then, as I have already
said, she had been caught up by an enormous wave, and might have been
said to be LIFTED over the barrier into her present position. Besides,
on that ever-memorable night, there had not only been the ordinary
spring-tide, but an equinoctial tide, such a one as could not be
expected to occur again for many months. Waiting was out of the
question; so Curtis determined to run the risk, and to take advantage of
the spring-tide, which would occur to-day, to make an attempt to get the
ship, lightened as she was, over the bar; after which, he might ballast
her sufficiently to sail.
The wind was blowing from the north-west, and consequently right in the
direction of the passage. The captain, however, after a consultation,
preferred to tow the ship over the ridge, as he considered it was
scarcely safe to allow a vessel of doubtful stability at full sail to
charge an obstacle that would probably bring her to a dead lock. Before
the operation was commenced, Curtis took the precaution of having
an anchor ready in the stern, for, in the event of the attempt being
unsuccessful, it would be necessary to bring the ship back to her
present moorings. Two more anchors were next carried outside the
passage, which was not more than two hundred feet in length. The
chains were attached to the windlass, the sailors worked away at the
handspikes, and at four o’clock in the afternoon the “Chancellor” was in
motion.
High tide would be at twenty minutes past four, and at ten minutes
before that time the ship had been hauled as far as her sea-range would
allow; her keel grazed the ridge, and her progress was arrested. When
the lowest part of her stern, however, just cleared the obstruction,
Curtis deemed that there was no longer any reason why the mechanical
action of the wind should not be brought to bear and contribute its
assistance. Without delay, all sails were unfurled and trimmed to the
wind. The tide was exactly at its height, passengers and crew together
were at the windlass, M. Letourneur, Andre, Falsten, and myself being
at the starboard bar. Curtis stood upon the poop, giving his chief
attention to the sails; the lieutenant was on the forecastle; the
boatswain by the helm. The sea seemed propitiously calm and, as it
swelled gently to and fro, lifted the ship several times.
“Now, my boys,” said Curtis in his calm clear voice, “all together!
Off!”
Round went the windlass; click, click, clanked the chains as link by
link they were forced through the hawse-holes.
The breeze freshened, and the masts gave to the pressure of the sails,
but round and round we went, keeping time in regular monotony to the
sing-song tune hummed by one of the sailors.
We had gained about twenty feet, and were redoubling our efforts when
the ship grounded again.
And now no effort would avail; all was in vain; the tide began to turn;
and the “Chancellor” would not advance an inch. Was there time to go
back? She would inevitably go to pieces if left balanced upon the ridge.
In an instant the captain has ordered the sails to be furled, and the
anchor dropped from the stern.
One moment of terrible anxiety, and all is well.
The “Chancellor” tacks to stern, and glides back into the basin, which
is once more her prison.
“Well, captain,” says the boatswain, “what’s to be done now?”
“I don’t know” said Curtis, “but we shall get across somehow.”