could effect it, and he did what he could, but that was not much.
However, we found that we could just manage to keep the leak from
gaining upon us by having one pump constantly going. As there were
only four of us, this was severe labour; but we endeavoured to keep
up our spirits, and looked anxiously for daybreak, when we hoped to
lighten the brig by cutting away the mainmast.

In this manner we passed a night of terrible anxiety and fatigue,
and, when the day at length broke, the gale had neither abated in the
least, nor were there any signs of its abating. We now dragged the
bodies on deck and threw them overboard. Our next care was to get rid
of the mainmast. The necessary preparations having been made, Peters
cut away at the mast (having found axes in the cabin), while the rest
of us stood by the stays and lanyards. As the brig gave a tremendous
lee-lurch, the word was given to cut away the weather-lanyards, which
being done, the whole mass of wood and rigging plunged into the sea,
clear of the brig, and without doing any material injury. We now
found that the vessel did not labour quite as much as before, but our
situation was still exceedingly precarious, and in spite of the
utmost exertions, we could not gain upon the leak without the aid of
both pumps. The little assistance which Augustus could render us was
not really of any importance. To add to our distress, a heavy sea,
striking the brig to the windward, threw her off several points from
the wind, and, before she could regain her position, another broke
completely over her, and hurled her full upon her beam-ends. The
ballast now shifted in a mass to leeward (the stowage had been
knocking about perfectly at random for some time), and for a few
moments we thought nothing could save us from capsizing. Presently,
however, we partially righted; but the ballast still retaining its
place to larboard, we lay so much along that it was useless to think