United States or Sint Maarten ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Taking advantage of a calm that the sea might not beat upon the month of the river, we went out with three of the ships, the boats towing a-head. Yet though they were lightened as much as possible, every one of the keels rubbed on the sand which was fortunately loose and moving; and we then took in with all expedition every thing that was unloaded for making the ships draw less water.
As this gondola attended their progress in various artful ways; sometimes shooting on a-head, and stopping to let them pass; sometimes, when the way was broad enough, skimming along side by side with them; and sometimes following close astern; and as Fanny gradually made no disguise that she was playing off graces upon somebody within it, of whom she at the same time feigned to be unconscious; Little Dorrit at length asked who it was?
With the understanding that he was to receive, himself, a guinea a-head for each sound man thus brought us, we parted from old Michael, who probably has never piloted a ship since, as I strongly suspect he had never done before.
Our depth of water, from the time we weighed till now, was nine fathom, but it soon shallowed to seven fathom; and at half an hour after one, having run eleven miles between noon and that time, the boat which was a-head made the signal for shoal water; we immediately let go an anchor, and brought the ship up with all the sails standing, for the boat, having just been relieved, was at but a little distance: Upon looking out from the ship, we saw shoal water almost all round us, both wind and tide at the same time setting upon it.
"No, my lad, it ain't the right point o' the compass by a long way," said the Captain; "but yonder goes a strange sail a-head, let's overhaul her." "Heave a-head then, Captain," said Lewis, "and clap on stun's'ls and sky-scrapers, for the strange sail is making for that cottage on the hill, and will get into port before we overhaul her if we don't look sharp." The "strange sail" was a woman.
And the magistrate, after an appropriate reprimand, fined Mr. Thomas Potter and Mr. Thomas Smithers five shillings each, for being, what the law vulgarly terms, drunk; and thirty-four pounds for seventeen assaults at forty shillings a-head, with liberty to speak to the prosecutors. The prosecutors were spoken to, and Messrs.
We had moreover farther reason to believe this to be the case, from the circumstance, that from this land to the south-east there lay a low island on which grew high pine-trees; from which circumstance, we considered it to be the Isle of Pines; and being unable, as I have already observed, to weather it, we bore away, intending to run along the western coast of New Caledonia: this mistake had nearly proved of fatal consequences to us, for after we had coasted along for a few leagues, and had been employed in taking angles for ascertaining the shape of the coast, as we sailed along it, land was discovered a-head; upon which the course was altered: soon afterwards, more land was seen still a-head, and as we hauled up to avoid it, more land and broken keys or low islands were discovered a-head, and as far to windward as the eye could reach; we consequently hauled our wind, and stood towards it, in order to discover our situation with more certainty.
Early the next morning, having neared the land considerably, we perceived a pointed rock right a-head, at some distance from the island; on which, we hove to, and soundings were tried for with 120 fathoms of line, but we got no bottom.
Here they are guided by a bent or broken twig, or by a leaf dropped from the animal's mouth, on which the pressure of a tooth may be detected. If at fault, they fetch a circuit like a setter, till lighting on some fresh marks, they go a-head again with renewed vigour.
The leading mark to clear this sand is to bring the hollow formed between the round hill at the right entrance of the Sarawak river and the next hill a-head, and as you approach the river's mouth, steer for a small island close to the shore, called Pulo Karra, or Monkey Island. You must not, however, encroach on the larboard side.
Word Of The Day