recommended the captain to make everything easy for the night and enter
the harbour next morning, when he expected the wind to be fair. But
during the night the wind increased and became a violent northeast gale,
and the vessel was blown out of the Irish Channel into the Atlantic
Ocean. For some days the wind blew with hurricane force. The ship lost
some sails, and was at last carrying only a close-reefed main topsail
and fore staysail. The sea was mountainous and lashing the ship from all
directions. Then late in the day, to the dismay of all on board, the lee
main topsail-sheet gave way, and the sail was flapping like thunder and
lashing the mast and rigging most furiously. The ship, now having
nothing to steady her, was helplessly rolling in the trough of the sea,
at the mercy of the waves, which threatened to engulf her, as they were
breaking on board from every direction. The deck-houses were washed away
and the decks were filled with water, which began to find an entrance to
the 'tween-decks, where the poor soldiers were battened down. In this
plight it was necessary to get the remnant of the topsail secure, and if
possible get a new sail in its place, so as to steady the ship. The
second officer was ordered to get the sailors and do this, but he soon
reported that the sailors, many of whom were foreigners, would not go
aloft. The chief officer then went forward and called for men, and asked
if there were any British sailors among them. If there were, for God's
sake, to go aloft with him. He led, the way, followed by seventeen
British sailors. They had nearly completed the work of securing the sail
when the ship gave a tremendous roll on the top of a very heavy wave and
the mast went by the board, carrying with it the chief mate and his
seventeen followers, and not a soul could be saved. Oh, to think of the
horrors of that dark and fearful night!

Now came the trial for Captain John Flamanek and the remaining portion
of his crew. The broken mast and yards, still held by the broken