Accidents > Dangers of the deep, or, Narratives of shipwreck and adventure at sea

ADVENTURES IN THE BOATS. 157
terly, rowed the whole day for the headland
we had seen the night before; but when we
had got that length could find no harbour, but
were obliged to go into a sandy hay, and lay
the whole night upon our oars ; and a most
dreadful one it proved, blowing and raining
very hard. Here we were so pinched with
hunger, that we eat the shoes otf our feet,
which consisted of raw seal skin. In the
morning we got out of the bay ; but the in¬
cessant foul weather had overcome us, and we
began to be indifferent as to what befel us;
and the boats, in the night, making into a bay,
we nearly lost the yawl, a breaker having fill¬
ed her, and driven her ashore upon the beach.
This, by some of our accounts, was Christmas
day; but our accounts had so often been inter¬
rupted by our distresses, that there was no de¬
pending upon them. Upon seeing the yawl in
this imminent danger, the barge stood off, and
went into another bay to the northward of it,
where it was smoother lying ; but there was
no possibility of getting on shore. In the
night the yawl joined us again. The next
day was so bad, that we despaired reaching
the headland; so we rowed down the bay
in the hopes of getting some seal, as that ani-