14

to leeward: you and your chair follow and bang
comes the chief mate and the Doctor, the knee of
the one in your stomach, the leg of the other's chair
in your neck - all lying a common heap on the
cabin floor. If adversity makes a man
acquainted with strange bed fellows - ship board
brings him into close intimacy with still stranger
ones.

14th Febr 1841. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the 14th February we
experienced a tremendous heavy gale which lasted twelve
hours, and blew in squalls accompanied with heavy falls
of sleet and rain. The ship lay to during the gale
the Engine making 6 Revolutions per minute, just sufficient
power to keep her head to the sea. I was perfectly
astonished at the good weather she made of it. How she could
have answered had she been still loaded with her coals on
board one cannot form an opinion, but now ten days of that
material had been expended which of course made her ride
so much more easy. The only vessel we saw during the
voyage was a [underline]New York Liner[/underline] a sailing packet that left
England fourteen days before us - we passed her on the edge
of the banks of Newfoundland standing to the Northward
under close reefed topsails & courses.

19th Febr 1841. On Friday the 19th of February we made Cape Caruso
bearing West North West 3 or 4 leagues, the land which was
covered with snow seemed to float along the horizion, like
a white cloud and it was only experienced eye of the Krew
that could discover it from its pure whiteness above the horizon.
This was the only calm day we experienced during the
voyage. On going on at seven o'clock AM.