Some Of The Skiffs Were So Near To Us, That As I Leaned Over The Ship's Quarter-Rail, Dreading, And Every Moment Expecting, That We Should Run One Down, I Could Distinctly Hear The Crews Hailing Us To Shorten Sail And Keep Off.

By adopting this course our vessel cleared the danger, and after slightly touching the banks, which caused the vessel

To heel, and created a momentary panic on board amongst the passengers, she was steered more out to sea, and by the following morning nothing was to be seen but a boundless waste of waters, extending as far as the eye could reach.

After these temporary alarms, with the exception of baffling winds, which impeded the progress of the ship, and lengthened the duration of our confinement ten days or a fortnight, our voyage was prosperous, little occurring to break the monotony of confinement on ship-board that is experienced in sea-passages in general; the only excitement being a fracas between the captain and cook, owing to complaints made by the middle-cabin and steerage passengers, which nearly ended fatally to the former, who would have been stabbed to a certainty, but for a by-stander wresting the knife from the hand of the enraged subordinate, who had been supplied too liberally with spirits by the passengers; a predominating evil on board all emigrant ships, from the drawback of duty allowed on spirits shipped as stores, and which are retailed on the voyage to the passengers. The culprit was confined below during the remainder of the voyage, and when we arrived at New York presented a pitiable sight, having been rigidly debarred by the captain's orders of many of the commonest necessaries, I believe, the whole time.

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