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mill-wheel, and before I could ascertain its meaning, I found the ship
quivering to its centre. In the next instant, a wilderness of foam
hurled us upon our beam-ends, and, rushing over us fore and aft, swept
the entire decks from stem to stern.
The extreme fury of the blast proved, in a great measure, the salvation
of the ship. Although completely water-logged, yet, as her masts had
gone by the board, she rose, after a minute, heavily from the sea, and,
staggering awhile beneath the immense pressure of the tempest, finally
righted.
By what miracle I escaped destruction, it is impossible to say. Stunned
by the shock of the water, I found myself, upon recovery, jammed in
between the stern-post and rudder. With great difficulty I gained my
feet, and looking dizzily around, was, at first, struck with the idea of
our being among breakers; so terrific, beyond the wildest imagination,
was the whirlpool of mountainous and foaming ocean within which we were
engulfed. After a while, I heard the voice of an old Swede, who had
shipped with us at the moment of our leaving port. I hallooed to
him with all my strength, and presently he came reeling aft. We soon
discovered that we were the sole survivors of the accident. All on deck,
with the exception of ourselves, had been swept overboard;--the captain
and mates must have perished as they slept, for the cabins were deluged
with water. Without assistance, we could expect to do little for the
security of the ship, and our exertions were at first paralyzed by the
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