As soon as
she rose out of it, I looked aft, and everything forward of the
main-mast, except the long-boat, which was griped and doublelashed
down to the ring-bolts, was swept off clear. The galley, the
pig-sty, the hen-coop, and a large sheep-pen which had been built upon
the forehatch, were all gone, in the twinkling of an eye- leaving the
deck as clean as a chin new-reaped- and not a stick left, to show
where they had stood. In the scuppers lay the galley, bottom up, and a
few boards floating about, the wreck of the sheep-pen- and half a
dozen miserable sheep floating among them, wet through, and not a
little frightened at the sudden change that had come upon them. As
soon as the sea had washed by, all hands sprung out of the
forecastle to see what had become of the ship and in a few moments the
cook and old Bill crawled out from under the galley, where they had
been lying in the water, nearly smothered, with the galley over
them. Fortunately, it rested against the bulwarks, or it would have
broken some of their bones. When the water ran off, we picked the
sheep up, and put them in the long-boat, got the long-boat, got the
galley back in its place, and set things a little to rights; but,
had not our ship had uncommonly high bulwarks and rail, everything
must have been washed overboard, not excepting Old Bill and the
cook.
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