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reach us in our present situation--for, as you saw yourself, the belt of
surf is considerably lower than the general bed of the ocean, and this
latter now towered above us, a high, black, mountainous ridge. If you
have never been at sea in a heavy gale, you can form no idea of the
confusion of mind occasioned by the wind and spray together. They
blind, deafen, and strangle you, and take away all power of action
or reflection. But we were now, in a great measure, rid of these
annoyances--just us death-condemned felons in prison are allowed petty
indulgences, forbidden them while their doom is yet uncertain.
"
How often we made the circuit of the belt it is impossible to say.
We careered round and round for perhaps an hour, flying rather than
floating, getting gradually more and more into the middle of the surge,
and then nearer and nearer to its horrible inner edge. All this time I
had never let go of the ring-bolt. My brother was at the stern, holding
on to a small empty water-cask which had been securely lashed under the
coop of the counter, and was the only thing on deck that had not been
swept overboard when the gale first took us. As we approached the brink
of the pit he let go his hold upon this, and made for the ring, from
which, in the agony of his terror, he endeavored to force my hands, as
it was not large enough to afford us both a secure grasp. I never felt
deeper grief than when I saw him attempt this act--although I knew he
was a madman when he did it--a raving maniac through sheer fright. I did
not care, however, to contest the point with him. I knew it could make
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