Explore "Narrative Of An Expedition Undertaken By E.B. Kennedy" by William Carron on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
-"I left Port Nicholson, New Zealand, about the middle of February last, as seaman, on board a schooner about 80 tons burden; I do not recollect her name. She was a topsail schooner; was sure she was coppered. She was bound for Singapore, in ballast, had no cargo on board. I got £2 10s. per month. There was nothing said about beche-le-mere in the articles. The captain's name was Thomas Dadds. There were seven men on board besides the captain. About five weeks after leaving Port Nicholson the schooner struck on a reef, about two o'clock in the morning. I was at the helm at the time. We then got the boat out, a very small one, and carried an anchor out astern, to haul the vessel off, but did not succeed. When the tide fell, the vessel bilged. We then got breakers and spars lashed under the boat's bottom. At low water the schooner was high and dry. When the tide flowed, we all got into the boat, and pulled to the westward. We left the wreck about an hour after the schooner struck.
-"At daylight saw an island, which we pulled for; landed on it the next morning; here we remained about three weeks living on shellfish; tried to get plank for the purpose of lengthening our boat; did not succeed for want of tools, nails, &c.