By this time my men
were demoralized and panic-stricken, and the poor fellows begged me, if
the doctor would not try to cure them, to get a priest to confess them
all. I saw a padre pacing the beach, and set flags asking him to come on
board. No notice was taken of the signal, and we were now left entirely
to ourselves.
After burying one more of the crew, we decided to remain no longer at
this terrible place. An English telegraph tender passing, outward-bound,
caught up our signals at that point, and kindly reported to her consul
at Maldonado, who wired it to Montevideo.
The wind blowing away from the shore, as may it always blow when friend
of mine nears that coast, we determined to weigh anchor or slip cable
without further loss of time, feeling assured that by the telegraph
reports some one would be on the look-out for us, and that the
_Aquidneck_ would be towed into port if the worst should happen--if the
rest of her crew went down. Three of us weighed one anchor, with its
ninety fathoms of chain, the other had parted on the windlass in the
gale. The bark's prow was now turned toward Montevideo, the place we had
so recently sailed from, full of hope and pleasant anticipation; and
here we were, dejected and filled with misery, some of our number
already gone on that voyage which somehow seems so far away.
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