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Updated: June 4, 2025
He had beheld the vessel within the surf, but a few yards distant from the outer rocks, thrown on her beam-ends, with both foresail and mainsail blown clear out of their bolt-ropes. The cry for succour was raised in vain; the wail of despair was not heard; the struggles for life were not beheld, as the elements in their wrath roared and howled over their victim.
Under the fresh weight of sail the vessel careened over, and shot foaming forward with new life for a moment. The next, the topsail had burst away from the bolt-ropes with a report as of a cannon-shot, and she had fallen away into the trough of the sea.
But it's no hard matter to knock a few cloths out of their bolt-ropes, when she will both drop astarn and to leeward." "I believe there is good sense in your scheme, this time," said Barnstable; "for I am anxious about the frigate's people though I hate a noisy chase; speak to him, Tom, and let us see if he will answer."
Anchors and gear were lost, the sails were torn out of the bolt-ropes, timbers were strained; and for six weeks this state of affairs went on to an accompaniment of thunder and lightning which added to the terror and discomfort of the mariners. This was in August and the first half of September six weeks of the worst weather that Columbus had ever experienced.
Still, the precaution was of no avail; for hardly had the men on deck handed the clewlines, when the sail, bulging out under our feet like a huge bag, or rather series of bags, as the wind puckered its folds, burst away from its bolt-ropes with a noise like the report of a gun discharged close to our ears, just as if we had cut it from off the yard, thus saving us any further trouble in furling it.
A vigorous man with muscles like bolt-ropes, and limbs that would have been respectable in the days of Goliah. I met him on leaving the steps of Mrs. Delaney's lodgings, and thinking of the marital office I wished him to perform I was rejoiced to discover that he was generously drunk in the proper spirit for such deeds in the flesh.
The first ships of the convoy touched by the blast were laid over almost on their beam-ends, but in the next instant righted again, on the whole of their sails being blown clean out of the bolt-ropes.
Never, in the whole voyage, did our crew spring to it in more lively fashion. And lively fashion was needed to save our gear. As it was, they cut away the remnants of the mizzen-lower-topsail with their sheath- knives, and they loosed the main-skysail out of its bolt-ropes. The first infraction of our agreement was on the main-lower-topsail. This they attempted to furl.
Just as the men had executed the first, and were about to pull on the clew-lines of the latter, a sudden gust took effect upon the bag of the sail and carried it clean from the bolt-ropes. The halyards were lowered and the yards properly braced up, while the Janson was brought to under the canvas we have before described.
But they never took it in; for at that moment it started to blow away out of the bolt-ropes, and in but few moments all that was left of it was a few short, slatting ribbons. "Mizzen-topgallant-sail!" Mr. Pike ordered. Then, and for the first time, he recognized my existence. "Well rid of it," he growled. "It never did set properly.
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