Page:The Naval Officer (1829), vol. 3.djvu/14

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THE NAVAL OFFICER.

filling with the oil of the walrus, or sea-horse; that she had been there at an anchor six weeks, and was nearly full. I asked to be shown the spot where —— the was wrecked; he took me to her sad remains. She lay broken in pieces on the rocks; and, not far from her, was a mound of earth, on which was placed a painted piece of board by way of a tombstone. he fate of the vessel, together with the number of sufferers, were marked in rude but concise characters. | do not exactly remember the words, but in substance it stated, that underneath lay the remains of one hundred as fine fellows as ever walked on a plank, and that they had died, like British seamen, doing their duty to the last. his was a melancholy sight, especially to a sailor, who knew net how soon the same fate awaited him. We rafted off several casks of water during that day, and on the following we completed our water, and then ran to the eastend of the island to anchor near, and wait for our consort the whaler, the captain of which,