port.

All went well till the _Triton_ was within a few miles of her
destination; when off the coast of Pinar del Rio she ran aground.

Those on board who were saved from the wreck said that the vessel was so
heavily loaded that she was not able to take her usual course, and,
because so much deeper in the water, ran aground on a bank that in her
ordinary trips she could pass over without difficulty.

As long as the vessel had been cutting her way through the water, the
heavy lading had caused little inconvenience, but when she grounded the
waves began to wash over her decks, and cause much alarm to the
passengers.

While the vessel was in great danger, she might still have been saved if
it had not been for the mules. These beasts, becoming panic-stricken as
the waves swept over the deck, stampeded to one side of the vessel,
causing it to list over so much that the cargo shifted.

This is one of the most terrible accidents that can happen to a vessel.

The loading of a cargo is a very important thing, and is a business of
itself. The men who direct it must understand just how to distribute the
weight evenly in the hold, and how to pack the boxes and bales and
barrels so tightly together that they cannot move, because if a cargo
should shift it is liable to throw the ship out of her balance, and she
is in danger of overturning and sinking.

This is what happened to the _Triton_. The mules and the shifted cargo