Fearing some accident to the children, I ordered all who could not swim
to come on board the diahbeeah. At that time the bow of the vessel was
actually touching the sand, but the stern, having swung out in the
stream, might have been about fifteen feet from the edge of the bank in
very deep water.
When the order was given to come on board, many of the people, in the
ebullition of spirits, leapt heedlessly into the water amidships,
instead of boarding the vessel by the fore part, which touched the sand.
These were dragged on board with considerable difficulty.
The boy Saat would have been drowned had not Monsoor saved him. In the
confusion, when several were struggling in the water, I noticed Ali
Nedjar, who could not swim, battling frantically with his hands in such
a manner that I saw the poor fellow had lost his head. He was not three
feet from the vessel's side.
My four life-buoys were hung on open hooks at the four corners of the
poop-deck; thus, without one moment's delay, I dropped a buoy almost
into his hands. This he immediately seized with both arms, and I, of
course, thought he was safe: the buoy naturally canted up as he first
clutched it, and, instead of holding on, to my astonishment he
relinquished his grasp!
