' time it will take to make the voyage from hence to England, by Torres' Strait, and to enable captain Flinders to be in England as early as possible, you will take especial care to lose no time in 'getting to England by the route captain Flinders may indicate.'

In the beginning of August, the Porpoise was nearly ready to sail; and two ships then lying in Sydney Cove, bound to Batavia, desired leave to accompany us through the Strait. These were the Hon. East-IndiaCompany's extra-ship Bridgewater, of about 750 tons, commanded by E. H. Palmer, Esq., and the ship Cato of London, of about 450 tons, commanded by Mr. John Park. The company of these ships gave me pleasure; for if we should be able to make a safe and expeditious passage through the strait with them, of which I had but little doubt, it would be a manifest proof of the advantage of the route discovered in the Investigator, and tend to bring it into general use. On the 10th I took leave of my respected friend the governor of New South Wales, and received his dispatches for England; and lieutenant Fowler having given a small code of signals to the Bridgewater and Cato, we sailed out of Port Jackson together, at eleven o'clock of the same morning, and steered north-eastward for Torres' Strait.

"Mr. Inman had re-delivered to me the two time-keepers, with a table of their rates deduced from equal altitudes, but the No. 543 had gone so very irregularly, as not to be entitled to any confidence; the error of No. 520 from mean Greenwich time at noon there on the 2d, and its rate of going during the twenty-five preceding days were as under:

"Earnshaw's No. 520, fast, of 49′ 54′′, 85 and losing 33", 38 per day.

"The winds were light, and mostly from the eastward during the first two days of our quitting Port Jackson; and not being able to get far enough from the land to avoid the southern current, it had retarded us 35′ on the 12th at noon, when the islands of Port Stephens were in sight. On the following day the wind became more steady in the the south-western quarter, and as our distance from the land increased, the current abated; and on the 15th, when the latitude was 27° 27′, longitude 156° 22′, and distance from the coast about fifty leagues, the set was something in our favour, The wind was then at south, and our course steered was north for twentyfour hours, then N. by W.; and on the 17th at noon we were in latitude 23° 22′, longitude 155° 34', and had the wind at S. E. by S.

"Soon after two o'clock, the Cato being some distance on our larbord quarter made the signal for seeing land.

This proved to be a dry sand bank, which bore S. S. W. about three leagues; and the Porpoise sailing faster than the other ships, they were directed to keep on their course whilst we hauled up to take a nearer view of the bank. At three o'clock, when it bore S. by E, five or six miles, we hove to and sounded, but had no bottom at 80 fathoms. The Cato's Bank, for so it was named, is small and seemed to be destitute of vegetation; there was an innumerable quantity of birds hovering about, and it was surrounded with breakers; but their extent seemed very little to exceed that of the bank, nor could any other reef near it be discovered. The situation was ascertained to be nearly 23° 6' south, and

155° 23' east; and we then made sail after the Bridgewater and Cato, to take our station a-head of them as before.

"Some apprehensions were excited for the following night by meeting with this bank; but as it was more than two degrees to the eastward of the great Barrier Reefs, we thought it unconnected with any other, like the two discovered by captain Ball and Mr. Bampton, further towards the north end of New Caledonia. I had, besides, steered for Torres' Strait in the Investigator, from reefs several degrees to the westward, without meeting with any other danger than what lay near the Barrier or belonged to the Strait; and by the time we had rejoined the ships in the evening, the distance run from the bank was thirtyfive miles, and no other danger had been descried. It did not therefore seem necessary to lose a good night's run by heaving to; and I agreed with lieutenant Fowler, that it would be sufficient to make the signal for the ships to run under easy, working sail during the night,-to take our usual station a-head,-and to charge one of the Investigator's warrant officer's with the look-out on the fore castle. These precautions being taken, and the top sails double reefed, our course was pursued to the N. by W., with a fresh breeze and cloudy weather; and at eight o'clock the lead was cast, but no bottom found at 35 fathoms. The Bridgewater was then about half a mile on the starbord, and the Cato a mile on the larbord quarter; and their distance seeming to increase at nine, when our rate of going was eight knots, the fore sail was hauled up to keep them in sight: wind then at S. E. by E.

In half an hour, and almost at

the same instant by the Investigator's carpenter on the forecastle, and the master who had charge of the watch on the quarter deck,-breakers were seen a-head. The helm was imme diately put down, with the intention of tacking from them; but the Porpoise having only three double-reefed top sails set, scarcely came up to the wind. Lieutenant Fowler sprang upon deck, on hearing the noise; but supposing it to be occasioned by carrying away the tiller rope, a circumstance which had often occurred in the Investigator, and having no orders to give, I remained some minutes longer, conversing with the gentlemen in the gun room. On going up, I found the sails shaking in the wind, and the ship in the act of paying off; at the same time there were very high breakers at not a quarter of a cable's length to leeward. In about a minute, the ship was carried amongst the breakers; and striking upon a coral reef, took a fearful heel over on her larbord beam ends, her head being north-eastward. A gun was attempted to be fired, to warn the other vessels of the danger; but owing to the violent motion and the heavy surfs flying over, this could not be done immediately; and be, fore lights were brought up, the Bridgewater and Cato had hauled to the wind across each other.

"Our fore mast was carried away at the second or third shock; and the bottom was presently reported to be stove in, ar.d the hold full of water. When the surf permitted us to look to windward, the Bridgewater and Cato were perceived at not more than a cable's length distance; and approaching each other so closely, that their running aboard seemed to us inevitable. This was an awful moment; the utmost silence pre

vailed;

vailed; and when the bows of the" two ships went to meet, even respiration seemed to be suspended. The ships advanced, and we expected to hear the dreadful crash; but presently they opened off from each other, having passed side by side without touching; the Cato steering to the north-east, and the Bridgwater to the southward. Our own safety seemed to have no other dependence than upon the two ships, and the exultation we felt at seeing this most imminent danger passed, was great, but of short duration; the Cato struck upon the reef about two cables length from the orpoise: we saw her fall over on her broad side, and the masts almost insta tly disappeared; but the darkness of the night did not admit of distinguishing, at that distance, what further might have happened.

"Turning our eyes toward the Bridgewater, a light was perceived at her mast head, by which we knew she had cleared the reef; and our first sensations were, that the commander would certainly tack, and send boats to our assistance; but when a little reflexion had enabled us to put ourselves in his place, it became evident that he would not choose to come so near the reef in the night, blowing fresh as it did; and still less to send his boats and people into the breakers, to their certain destruction.

"The Porpoise had very fortu. nately heeled towards the reef; so that the surfs which struck against her turned-up side, flew over with out washing off the decks; and the smooth appearance of the water under the lee, afforded a prospect of being able to get the boats out on that side. The experiment was tried with a small four-oared gig, and succeeded; but a six-oared cutter

was jerked against the sheet anchor by the violence of the shocks, and being stove, was filled with water.

"It was by no means certain how long the ship, being slightly built, and not in a sound state, might hold together; it was therefore deemed expedient to lighten her, that she might drive further up the coral bank and lie more easily. On sounding, the depth was found to be 17 fathoms on the windward side, but no more than a few feet on the reef; and Mr. Fowler ordered the main and mizen masts, and the starbord anchor to be cut away; but on my suggesting to him the possibility of driving over the reef, with the rise of tide, and sinking in deep water as the Pandora had done, the lightening of the ship was not prosecuted further.

Beyond the smooth water close under the lee, there was a line of breakers, and further on the sea appeared to be tranquil; it therefore seemed probable that boats might approach the ship on that side, and if this information could be conveyed to captain Palmer of the Bridgwater, that something might be speedily done towards saving the crew; and as it was likely that my influence with him might be greatest, and being a passenger in the Porpoise, no charge made my presence on board immediately necessary, I proposed to make the attempt in the gig, to which Mr. Fowler assented. The boat being obliged to lie at a little distance from the ship, to prevent being stove, I jumped overboard and swam to her; and we pushed through the breakers to the smooth water, receiving two or three surfs by the way, from which we hardly escaped sinking. On examining the condition of the boat, I found nothing to bale out the water,

and

and only two oars which did not, belong to it; and instead of the proper crew of fonr men, there were only three; but under the thwarts were stowed away three others, the armourer, a cook, and a marine, who did not know how to handle an oar. These last were set to baling with their hats and shoes, and we rowed towards the Bridgewater's light, keeping under the lee of the breakers. That ship was standing from us, and I saw that any attempt to get nearer before she tacked would be fruitless; and even afterwards, it was much to be doubted whether, with two awkward oars and an overloaded boat, we could make any way against the sea on the windward side of the reef; I therefore determined to remain under the lee of the breakers until she should approach, and to lie near the Porpoise; that in case of her going in pieces before morning, we might save some of the people. In rowing back we met the cutter, which the men in her, having got the leak partly stopped, had pushed off without an officer, and were going they scarcely knew whither they furnished us with a third oar, and I desired them to keep close to the gig, near the wreck, until morning. We found the bottom here to be coral rock, and the water so shallow, that a man might stand up in many places without being over head.

"I wished to have got on board the ship, to let them know of the boats being safe and what we had disCovered of the reef; but the breakors between us, and the darkness of the night cut off all hope of communication before morning. They burned blue lights every half hour, as a guide to the Bridgewater; but her light was lost to us in the boats at eleven o'clock, and after two in the

morning it was no longer seen from. the Porpoise At that time it appeared to be low water, and the ship lay so much more quiet than befor, that the apprehension of her coing to pieces before day light had much subsided; to be prepared, however, for the next flood, Mr. Fowler employed his people during the night in making a raft of the spare top masts, yards, &c., with short ropes all round it, by which the people might hold on; and a cask of water, with a chest containing some provisions, a sextant, and the Investigator's log books, were secured upon the raft.

"In the small gig we were quite drenched, the south-east wind blew fresh and cold, and the reflexions excited by the great change so suddenly made in our situation, with the uncertainty of what had befallen the Cato and even the Bridgewater, did not tend to make this long night pass more agreeably. My thoughts were principally occupied in devising plans for saving ourselves, under the apprehension that we might see no more of the Bridgewater; but not to discourage the people, I spoke of every body getting on board that ship in the morning, and of continuing our voyage to England, as not at all doubtful.

"Of the poor Cato, we could neither see nor hear any thing. It appeared that captain Park, when meeting the Bridgewater on opposite tacks, stopped setting his mainsail and bore away to leeward; had he persevered, both ships must have come upon the reef together; but by his presence of mind on this occasion, the Bridgewater weathered the breakers and escaped the im pending danger. When the Cato struck the reef, it was upon the point of a rock, under the larbord