much better boat, was upset, his boat stove, himself much hurt, five of his men drowned, and he himself and several, your memorialist believes all, the survivors of his crew, dragged out of the water by him and his people. If any other boat at that time followed, it was swallowed up.
“Taking his masts and oars for rollers, your memorialist then launched his boat over the sand into the river, and proceeded to where the assembled officers and soldiers were in crowds witnessing the scene. He immediately began to cross troops over the river; and also to construct a raft for a similar purpose. After Captain O’Reilly’s disaster, no other attempts at entrance were made till the afternoon, when the attempt was renewed, and with ultimate success, but not without considerable loss, by the upsetting of boats, and even of decked vessels. Every open boat which attempted the passage was upset, your memorialist’s alone excepted, whatever was its size, whether larger or smaller than his.
“Upon the renewal of the attempt at entrance, your memorialist discontinued the transportation of troops, in which he was engaged, and went down in his boat to the inner edge of the breakers on the bar of the river, endeavouring to render what assistance he could: here he saved several of those who were upset; no other boat, person, or other kind of human assistance whatever, was in attendance.
"Having constructed his raft before the establishment of the bridge, he crossed over cavalry, about sixteen horses with their riders, complete for service, at a time, – cannon, waggons, soldiers, whatever indeed was brought to him, making about ten trips a day. The Ardour, where this took place, is about as wide as the Thames at London Bridge; and the tide as rapid as in the latter river, a little below the fall of the said bridge. This rapidity it was which foiled the engineers, though aided by a brigade of Portuguese marine. Your memorialist, however, surmounted the difficulty; and during three days, this transportation, as to any thing heavy, was performed almost exclusively by him and his boat’s crew, aided by some soldiers. On the third day, a large and well-constructed raft by Major Tod, of the royal engineers, was sent him; on this he crossed over six pieces of battering cannon, complete for service; he also, at the pressing instance of Colonel (now Sir Colin) Campbell, aide-de-camp to the Marquis of Wellington, crossed over in safety, during a furious storm, the travelling and another carriage belonging to his lordship; for which the colonel returned him thanks in the handsomest terms.
“He continued upon this service during a week; for not till then was the bridge, and the quay and wharf belonging to it, fit to bear heavy carriages; and when his labors for the day were concluded, which they never were while he had strength to stand, he then went on board a vessel, where he had to sleep in his clothes upon the deck, wrapped up in a sail. Previous to his quitting the Adour, he received the personal thanks of Sir John Hope and Rear-Admiral Penrose; by whom, in public despatches, he was strongly recommended to their respective commanders-in-chief, the Marquis of Wellington and Viscount Keith.
