The Sun.
London, England, 1804-12-21 00:00:00

. nv.r F, RESTIAT,N,AqP ATIPE
or Tat:- t.s9' or-tur, •;
DIKT OF CUMBIntLANDTACK-F„T.,-'
47t.;;u1, the 4th 'al Sept:

•
T Cuinterl7.nd Packet was lying ar
11 nehor the Road 'n'f'S;;.lc)lin.'s,. on morn`.
log of tie 3rl of Septoml);r; waiting for 'the Kiils.
The Seiapir and De Ruiter' were. at rci great
ta9ce. •

The wind had been blowinfresh from the north
'during the night , at-noon it" increased ; at two w,f
let so the best bower-anchor ;'at six it blew a per-
fee'l storm, when we struck our yards and topmasts.
This. was scarcely finished', when it was discovered
that the vessel had' parted her best bower-cable ;
we bent the remaining part of it to the stream-
and; ,r, and the sire..nn.eable to the kedge: Having
dune what' was in our power for the safety-4.6e
,ship, site confided the rest to Novidence, recom-
mmded our Ives to the protr;ai,in of the Almighty,
and remained idle, but anxious spetiators of the
scene before us, awaiting the event 'in silent dread.,
To men
,who were so deeply interested in the el-
Os of the storm, no scene could be so truly awful.
'The wind raged with a violence known only in
tropical climates ;„ the rain fell- like a deluge, the
wives had risen to a most stupendous height, the ship
was pitching her forecastle 'Under water, our best
cable wtas aiteaaly gone, and we every moment ex_
peeled to part the rest to add to the horrors of
our situation, the lightning flashing frequently dls.
cu,veredto us, notwithstandi,l the extreme dark-
ness of the night, that as soon as we should part
or drive away from onr moorings, a reef of bor.'
rid rocks lay to 'leeward ready to receive uq.
rite :masts of the De Ruyter had been frequently
hewn to 'us by the glare of the lightning, and we
could perceive that she had driven from her moor.
in g ; they dis'appeared all at once, anti we concluded
that she had foundered we supppo,ed that the
Serafir had shared the same fate.
Aboot eleven o'clock the windlass gave way
with a tremendous noise ; the sailors immediate.
ly chyped stops upon the cables, and secured them
by means of 'ring.bielts on the decks live were'
.contihually
,breaking,'and were as often replaced.
The cable had now held so lunge that we begr
to entertain hopes of 'riding ont. the gale ; and we
dared, for.a moment,
;to quit'the deck to take some
refreshment; bat no sootier were we satdow"n'than
aloud g ro4n from thq crew summoned us upnn deck.
The cable, had parted; the ship hung about- two
Minutes by the stream and kedge, and then hPg.in
to drive broadside on, dragging them along with her.
At this time some of the seamen, 'torn by despair,
seemed for a moment to forger themselves---the
cries of their homes, their wives, and their children,
resounded throughout the ship'; itut theV soon' be.
,came sensible of their folly, and resumed their'
usual firmness,

The ship parted aborrt twelve..; tire!), min- clung
16.-.11 rope ; a dreadful silence now ensued, every
one being too intent on his .approaching' end to
communicate
,his feelings'. to another,--Nothing
could be heart) but the horrid howling of the tem-
'pest. We had drifted an frOur, 'without !,:no‘i,T.
whither a little before one we struck, and
scantly went off again. We. were alarmed lest we
should run upon Rot Island, .a perpe.ndieular rock
in the middle of St. John's harbour. We passed
veral shil,s, from which we could derive no
ance. About two we found the ship bring up on
some horrid rocks, at the foot of a stupendous Ire.
cipice. In half an. hour after the Water was
up to the lower dick. 'Benumbed as we were, we
were fared coding three hours longer to the shrouds,
in continued dread
,of the ship a parting. Neier
Was day.light more anxiously wished fur. Whin
it arrived, it discovered to us, ail the horrors of our
situation.

The vessel was laying:, upon large rocks, at the
foot of a craggy-, over-hanging precipice, tveic...z as i
high as the ship's main. ..mast ; the. mizen.mast,
Much, although. eta ;Wray, SIM, hung in a diagtmal
diretttion, supported isy svtneropes, reached Witian
about Icy; fathorns of the rack, the land farm-
ing a sort of bay around us,. also'apptoached-u4
a:fie,,d, and
,tbe extremity of the rib.bootn was not
far florn.it ;, we, could discern many ships on shore
in various parti of. the:harbour, and the wind and.'
rain l)eut vpOn us with unabated Violence ; the ship
lay a mil.fa able wreck : one ware had carried away
her stern brat,' unshipped her rudder, and washed
overboard her quarter.boards, binnacle,,and round.
house ; her fore.and rnizen masts lay .along.side,
supported by small ropes. Our only hopes of say.
oie.g. our lives were by means of the Inizen mast' t
we gut the topmast and top.gallant.rnasts launched
ud it : a sailor heaved A rope with a noose to catch
hold of the but-ihes which grew On the broiv of the •
rock, but they gave way another seaman proceed.
ea to the toploliant.ttiast) anti was on the point of
leaping atno.ng the bushzs, witty the pol-•:.-of the
ltiSt gave wsy ;• his fall was at least' forty feet in
height ; it' was some titnc, be,ro.e h rtr,r,
surface ; every one expeard. to see him dashed to
pieces ;. fOrtunately he carried dOwn with him the
piece of the broken mast, with some Small cOrds,
to Which he .clung, until lie was hoisted in. The
storm did not; abate—we dreaded the ship would
'part ; the had already bilged her larboard side-:'the
Crew were fatigued, -benumbed, and 'dispirited.—
Some negroes made their appearance eh the top of
'the rock, and gazed at us in a stupid manner, but
'did not approach u 3. Whilst we were' meditating.
In sullen' silence on our situation', Mr. Dontztatets,
the Chief 'Mate,' went out on the :Vowsprir, and
threW :himself from the end of the jib.boorn ' into
the water; a tremendous tvave threw hiM upon the,
'`roCk, anti left hint dry ; he' remained' Motionless. a
'few minutes ; a second wave washed-liim stilt ftr-
titer up ; he clung 'to some 'roughness in the cliff,
let-Maned to recruit itintatit,' ;,nd 'then began'. to
scramble 'up the rock, His preservation was Mira-
culous, and ,eemed a singular interposition of Pro-
vidence it, our behalf.